Olympic Shooting Overview

Overview | Olympic Air Gun Events | Olympic Archery Events | Olympic Pistol Events
Olympic Rifle Events | Olympic Shotgun Events

In 1896, the modern Olympic Games began, through the efforts of the Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who made his life's work to resurrect the Olympic dream that had first begun in ancient Greece several centuries before the common area. In Athens, Greece the first modern Olympic Games were conducted with nine sports and the former French pistol champion, Pierre de Coubertain supported the inclusion of two bigbore rifle and three pistol events on the Olympic program.
Until today the shooting sports just missed being on the Olympic program only twice. Shooting Sports competitions were not held at the 3rd Games 1904 in St. Louis, USA and at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, NED.

The list of events has been modified at successive Games in light of how guns have evolved, also taking into account the evolution of customs and tradition. Until 1924, the Shooting program contained a multitude of events that were subsequently dropped: 31 events in all. Seventeen of the 31 events appeared on the program just once, and another nine appeared twice, indicating how unstable the program has been. Of the events that were dropped, it is worth mentioning the 300-meter rifle event, which was included in the program 12 times until 1972, and had been one of the three shooting events on the program since 1896. Individual and team events were fired until 1948, when team competitions were eliminated by the former UIT - International Shooting Federation.

Women have been allowed to compete in shooting competition since 1972, and competed together with men until 1980. At the 1984 Games, they took part in a separate program consisting of three events, but they kept the right to compete with the men in the mixed events – Olympic trap and skeet until 1992. At the 1996 Games trap and skeet events were conducted as men's only events, but a new event, double trap, entered the Olympic program for men and women.

Material courtesy of National Shooting Sports Foundation