Shooting at the 1984 Summer Olympics

There were several changes in 1984 for Olympic shooting. Olympic shooting has been on the Olympic Program at all Olympics, except for 1904 and 1928. But in 1984, this was not as certain, as the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee had difficulty finding a suitable site and facility at which to conduct the shooting. For a time in the early 1980s, there was some concern that the sport would not be held. Eventually, an Olympic shooting range was constructed at the Prado Recreation Area, near Corona, Yorba Linda, and Chino, about 65 km. (40 miles) southeast of Los Angeles.

The program was also markedly different. Since 1968, women had competed alongside men with all events being mixed. In 1984, the program was segregated for most events. Men competed in six events – free pistol, rapid-fire pistol, air pistol, small-bore rifle prone, small-bore rifle three positions, and running target. Women now had their own separate events, competed in sport pistol, air rifle, and small-bore rifle three positions. Trap and skeet shooting, the shotgun events, continued to be mixed, with two women competing in skeet shooting in 1984. This enlarged the program to 11 events overall. As in 1980, the competition was weakened by the boycott, this one led by the Soviet Union, as the strong USSR and East German shooters did not compete.