Shooting

Sport shooting originated as a means of survival, as shooting was practiced to hunt game for food. In the 19th century, as the industrial revolution occurred and hunting for food became less necessary for more people, sport shooting evolved. The sport was first popular in English-speaking countries, notably England and the United States, but also in Ireland and South Africa.

The world governing body is the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), formerly L’Union Internationale des Fédérations et Associations Nationals de Tir, and also as the L’Union Internationale de Tir (UIT), which was formed on 17 July 1907, in Zürich, with seven founding members: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands. As of 2024, the ISSF had 163 member federations from 149 countries or territories.

Shooting has been contested at most of the Olympic Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin was an avid pistol shooter, so he saw to it that the sport was included on the programme in 1896. There were also events in 1900, but none were contested in 1904 at St. Louis. At Amsterdam 1928, shooting events were also not on the programme. This was due to the fact that, usually, prize money was awarded at shooting competitions, which was against the Olympic Charter, which allowed only amateurs to participate.

The programme has varied more than any other sport (with the possible exception of sailing/yachting). From 1908-1924, there were dozens of events, including numerous team events, and it was possible for shooters to win several medals at each Olympics. After the sport’s hiatus in 1928, it returned to the Olympics in 1932 with only two events – one for pistols and one for rifles.

Women were first allowed to compete in Olympic shooting in 1968, when all events became open to both genders; in that year, Mexico, Peru, and Poland each entered one female contestant. In 1976, Margaret Murdock (USA) won a silver medal in the small-bore rifle (three positions) event. In 1984, the UIT introduced separate events for women. Since that time, the women’s shooting programme has been expanded at each Olympics, and the number of open events decreased.

Beginning in 2000 at Sydney, men and women competed in fully separate shooting programmes, with 10 events for men and seven for women. At Tokyo 2020, the programme was equalized, with six events for men, six for women, and three mixed team events. As of 2024, men and women have two events in the three main types of shooting (pistol, rifle, and shotgun), while the mixed teams have one event for each type.

Through 2024, Olympic sport shooting is led by the United States, with 121 medals and 58 golds, followed by China, with 77 medals and 31 golds. The top medal winners among the men in this sport all date from the period 1896-1924, when there were team events. Six marksmen have won five gold medals. Carl Osburn stands out among them as having won the most total medals (11), while Willis Lee uniquely won all his seven medals and five golds at the same Games, in 1920.

In the women’s competition, the medal table is led by American shooter Kim Rhode, with six medals and three golds. In the overall medal count, she is followed by three European athletes – Marina Dobrancheva-Logvinenko, Mariya Grozdeva, and Jasna Šekarić –, all with five Olympic medals.