Explained: Olympic Shooting

Shooting 21 Mar 24

Excruciating tension, minute margins and unbreakable concentration – Olympic shooting is a unique challenge.

One of the original nine Olympic sports, there were only 39 competitors, representing seven different nations in five events at Athens 1896.

The sport has grown globally since then and the Paris 2024 offering will include 340 competitors vying for 15 gold medals.

Here is all you need to know about the Olympic shooting at Paris 2024.

What are the Olympic shooting events?

Olympic shooting features three types of guns - rifle, pistol and shotgun.

In rifle and pistol events, athletes shoot at stationary targets at indoor shooting ranges. Shotgun, meanwhile, is held outdoors where shooters have to aim at targets hurled in the air.

All shooting is done from a set distance of 10m, 25m or 50m, with athletes aiming for a bullseye on a paper target, or flying ‘clays’ in the shotgun.

What are the gun specifications for Olympic shooting?

Rifle: Single-loaded in 5.6-millimetre calibre (the inner diameter of a gun barrel), which is used across all events.

Pistol: In the 10m Air Pistol event a single-loaded pistol in 4.5-millimetre calibre is used, whereas the ones used in the 25m events are a Rapid Fire Pistol in 5.6 calibre with a five-shot magazine.

Shotgun: A 12 gauge having a calibre of 18.5-millimetres. The gauge is a unit of measurement for firearms. In a shotgun, the gauge is determined by the number of equally-weighing spherical balls made from a pound of lead, that can be fit inside the gun barrel.

What happens in rifle shooting at the Olympics?

In rifle shooting, competitors aim at a target with 10 concentric circles from a fixed distance, with two subcategories: 50m Rifle 3 Positions and 10m Air Rifle.

In 50m Rifle 3 Positions, athletes shoot from kneeling, prone, and standing positions, firing 40 shots in each within a two-hour and 45-minute timeframe. The top eight scorers progress to the medal round.

For 10m Air Rifle, participants shoot 60 shots in 75 minutes, and the top eight then compete for medals.

An elimination format is used for rifle finals, removing the lowest-scoring shooter after each series of shots before gold and silver medals are determined by a head-to-head shoot-off.

In addition to separate men’s and women’s events, the 10m Air Rifle includes a mixed team event. Each team, consisting of one male and one female athlete, fires 40 shots in the qualification round within 50 minutes. The top five teams advance to the final round.

What happens in pistol shooting at the Olympics?

Pistol shooting consists of three subcategories: 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, 25m Pistol, and 10m Air Pistol, all requiring athletes to shoot with one hand only, unsupported.

In the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, exclusively for men, shooters fire successively in short periods of eight, six, and four seconds. The qualification round includes two sets of 30 shots each, with the top eight shooters advancing to the medal round.

The 25m Pistol event is exclusive to women and mirrors the format of the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event, featuring two qualifying rounds of 30 shots each.

For the 10m Air Pistol, following the rules of the 10m Air Rifle, there are men’s, women’s, and mixed team categories. In the individual categories, shooters fire 60 shots within one hour and 15 minutes, with the top eight advancing to the medal round. In the mixed team event, each member fires 40 shots, and the top five teams compete for the overall honours.

Like in rifle, an elimination format is used for pistol, removing the lowest-scoring shooter after each series of shots before gold and silver medals are determined by a head-to-head shoot-off.

What is Skeet and Trap? 

Skeet and Trap are the Olympic shotgun events where athletes shoot at a small, fast-moving target called 'clay,' measuring just 10cm in diameter, traveling at over 100kph.

Both events include men’s and women’s categories, while Trap also features a mixed team event.

In Skeet, male and female athletes shoot at clay targets from eight different stations. Clays come from the 'high house' on the left and the 'low house' on the right. Athletes take 25 shots each in five rounds over three days, with the top six moving on to the medal round.

For Trap, shooters fire at clays thrown from five positions. The preliminary round mirrors Skeet for men and women.

In the individual events, the top six go through to a semi-final, with the first two then shooting off for gold and silver and third and fourth shooting for bronze.

In the Trap mixed team event, each shooter fires 75 shots in three rounds, with the top six teams advancing to the medal round.

The Double Trap, releasing two targets simultaneously, has been removed from the Olympic program.

What are blinkers?

Blinkers, or blinders, are used to improve focus and block objects from distracting their vision.

Only shotgun athletes are permitted to wear side blinkers.

Where will the Paris 2024 Olympic shooting be held?

The National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, based approximately 160 miles south of Paris, will host shooting at Paris 2024.

Read more: What are the venues at Paris 2024

Who are the Brits to watch in shooting at Paris 2024?

Team GB's rich history in Olympic shooting dates back to the 1908 London Games, where they secured 21 medals.

Recent highlights include Matthew Coward-Holley's bronze at Tokyo 2020 and Pete Wilson's double trap gold at London 2012, making him Team GB's last Olympic champion.

Overall, Team GB boasts 47 Olympic shooting medals, including 13 golds.

Anticipation for medal success is high this time, with Amber Rutter determined to bounce back after a positive Covid-19 test thwarted her quest for gold at Tokyo.

Sportsbeat 2024

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