As a sport, shooting has been around for centuries. There are even clubs in Germany that date back some five hundred years, and it grew massively in popularity in the UK and US through the 19th Century.
Now, it’s a global sport of skill that’s been a feature of the Olympic Games in all but two editions since 1896 and currently spans fifteen events.
With such variety between Olympic shooting events and there being so many medals on the line, it’s become a hot market in sport betting circles. So, use this as your guide to the rules and scoring of shooting at the Games.
History
Shooting as a sport has more or less been around since the invention of the firearm. From hunting to sport shooting, people across the centuries have sought to pit their skill and accuracy against one another.
A major propellant of the popularity of the sport came in the form of the National Rifle Association’s founding in 1871, spurring gun pride and gun ownership across the United States.
Its inclusion in the Olympic Games actually came via a Frenchman. National pistol champion and founder of the modern Games, Pierre de Coubertin, helped to get the event in the Olympics and competed in it himself.
When it debuted, participants would shoot live pigeons. Thankfully, this was the only time animals were killed as part of a modern Olympic event, so viewers only need to worry about live betting rather than live targets these days.
From 1896 to now, the shooting disciplines have evolved tremendously, but throughout, it has regularly had the distinction of giving out the very first medals of the Summer Olympic Games.
Rules
The rules of each shooting discipline primarily lean on the discipline itself. In each one, there’ll be a designated firearm, an area for the competitors to shoot from, a distance for the targets, and a set position.
Positions make up most of the more important rules for the shooting events. Athletes either have to kneel on one knee and rest their elbow on the other knee, lay down in prone, or stand.
Some disciplines have a mix of positions to remember and can include all three positions. The aim of the game is to hit targets as close to the bullseye with the given number of shots, or hit as many of the flying targets as you can.
Scoring
In the target shooting disciplines, each athlete gets a ten-ring target to shoot at. Hitting the middle of the ring returns ten points, with each subsequent ring going outward giving one fewer point.
The final rounds of the shooting tend have a different scoring target. It still features ten rings, but each of the rings is subdivided into ten scoring zones, making 10.9 the highest possible single-shot score.
Skeet and trap shooting events do away with the stagnant targets and throw 10cm clay objects through the air. Each clay object hit – which flies at over 60 mph – returns one point.
Disciplines & Events
There are three disciplines of shooting at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with those being rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Each of these hosts five events, as follows:
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Men’s 10m Air Rifle
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Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions
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Women’s 10m Air Rifle
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Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions
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Mixed 10m Air Rifle Team
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Men’s 10m Air Pistol
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Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
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Women’s 10m Air Pistol
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Women’s 25m Pistol
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Mixed 10m Air Pistol Team
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Men’s Trap (Shotgun)
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Men’s Skeet (Shotgun)
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Women’s Trap (Shotgun)
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Women’s Skeet (Shotgun)
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Mixed Skeet Team (Shotgun)
Equipment
The main piece of equipment in shooting is, of course, the firearm. In each discipline, there are a couple of options of rifle, pistol, or shotgun, but each event does specify the kind of gun that can be used.
For the pistol and rifle events, air-compression and small-bore weapons are utilised, with most having set weight requirements and all needing to adhere to pellet propulsion and calibre rules.
Shotgun events use double-barrelled guns for the trap and double trap events but switch to ones with shorter barrels to achieve a wider pellet spread in the skeet events.
Most Successful Countries at the Olympics
There won’t be any gold medals for guessing which country tops the medal table! The United States stands head and shoulders above all other nations, toting 57 gold medals and 116 in total.
Next in line, but a fair bit behind, is China. The 26 gold medals and 67 count for the total sets the country quite some way back of challenging for the top spot.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
