Shooting

The 15 events

Men (nine events): Air rifle (10m), Rifle three positions (50m), Rifle prone (50m), Air pistol (10m), Rapid-fire pistol (25m), Pistol (50m), Trap, Double trap, Skeet.

Women (six events): Air rifle (10m), Rifle three positions (50m), Air pistol (10m), Pistol (25m), Trap, Skeet

The format

Qualifying rounds produce eight finalists, except for rapid-fire pistol, trap, skeet and double trap where there are six finalists. In all events, scores from qualifying and the final are combined to determine final standings.

Milestones

1410: Birth of the first company of arquebusiers.

1710: Target shooting gains in popularity in the United States.

1814: Live pigeon shooting is introduced in England.

1858: Samuel Colt invents the cylinder system for the pistol. The first rules are developed and the first shooting associations appear in Switzerland.

1880: Introduction of clay pigeon shooting in England.

1888: Clair registers the patent for the automatic weapon.

1896: Shooting makes its Olympic introduction, remaining for further Olympiads with the exception of 1904 in Saint-Louis and 1928 in Amsterdam.

1968: Women are allowed to compete in shooting events at the Games. Without separated disciplines, they participate alongside their male counterparts.

1984: The first women-only events are introduced into the Olympic programme: the sport pistol, the small-bore rifle 3 positions and the air rifle.

Stars

Oscar Swahn (Sweden): The great veteran. In 1912, the Swede became the oldest Olympic gold medalist by winning the team running dear title at the age of 64 years and 257 days. It remains the record to beat. He also came second in double shot team event in 1920 at the age of 72, which also makes him the oldest Olympic medalist. Three gold medals, all in running dear, later emulated by his son Alfred.

Karoly Takacs (Hungary): World champion in team pistol shooting in 1939, the Hungarian lived out a terrible drama when a grenade exploded in his right hand (his shooting hand). He learned to shoot with his left hand and was double Olympic champion in rapid-fire pistol in 1948 and 1952.

Zhang Shan (China): A true champion. At the 1992 Games in Barcelona, the Chinese woman defeated all the men competitors to win the skeet gold medal, the last time the event took place as a mixed event. She was the first woman to win a mixed shooting competition at the Olympic Games.