Shooting has been an Olympic sport since the first modern Games in Athens in 1896.
Here’s all you need to know about the sport at Paris 2024.
Shooting schedule and venue at Paris 2024
The shooting events run from 27 July to 5 August at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, which is 140 miles south of the French capital.
There will be 15 shooting medal events at Paris 2024, the same as Tokyo 2020. These are:
10m Air Rifle (women’s/men’s/mixed team)
50m Rifle 3 Positions (women’s/men’s)
10m Air Pistol (women’s/men’s/mixed team)
25m Rapid Fire Pistol (men’s)
25m Pistol (women’s)
Trap (women’s/men’s)
Skeet (women’s/men’s/mixed team)
Scoring and rules in shooting
There are three Olympic shooting disciplines: rifle, pistol and shotgun. Rifle and pistol events take place on shooting ranges, where athletes aim at targets at distances of 10m, 25m and 50m. There are also three positions: kneeling (where the athlete goes down on one knee and rests the elbow on the other knee), prone and standing. Some events include all positions.
To hit the targets as accurately and as close to the centre (the bullseye) as possible, shooters use relaxation techniques to lower their heartbeat. Shotgun events are different in principle, as they take place outdoors. Shooters aim at flying disc-shaped targets fired from different angles and directions. This sport demands a great deal of concentration, decision making and sharp reflexes.
Who has won the most medals in Olympic shooting?
China topped the shooting medal table with 11 medals (four gold) at the Tokyo Olympics.
The United States of America are the most successful nation in the sport winning 116 medals (57 gold).
Great Britain have won 33 Olympic shooting medals (13 gold). The most recent gold medal was Peter Wilson (double trap) in 2012. Matt Coward-Holley won a bronze medal in men’s trap in Tokyo. Britain’s best women’s performance is Amber Hill, who finished sixth on skeet in Rio 2016.
