Shooting
History
Obviously firearms were not invented with sport in mind. They changed the way wars and battles were fought, which used swords, bow and arrow before, as well as hand-to-hand combat. The first evidence of the use of firearms in wars dates back to 1346, when the English fought the French. From then on, firearms evolved and started being more and more used in battles.
As a sport, shooting comes from military related practices. The firing lines in combats were used as models for the first competitions, when shooters would shoot laying down (prone position), on their knees (kneeling) and standing up. In 1867, the Chalôns shooting range was set up in France, where the first rifle shooting competition was held.
In addition to the military, hunting clubs also made their contribution to the development of shooting as a sport. Indeed, hunting inspired some of the events used until today, such as skeet and trap shooting.
Shooting has been part of the Olympic programme since the first edition of the Games in 1896 in Athens. Until 1964 in Tokyo, only men's competitions were held. Women made their Olympic debut at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, competing in mixed events. The first women only events were held at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, in two categories: air pistol and air rifle. Currently, there are 15 shooting events, nine for the men and six for the ladies.
Curiosities
Almost perfect
Gerald Ouellette from Canada won the gold medal in the prone position rifle at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, with an almost perfect performance. After hitting 60 shots in the centre of the target, Ouellette broke the world record by scoring 600 points. However, the perfect performance ended up giving him just the gold medal and not the world record.
A mistake made by the Australian organisers cost Ouellette the world record. When the organisers put up the target, they set it up 1.5m short of the required distance. As the distance was incorrect, the shooter's record could not be acknowledged.
First medal for women
Before exclusive women's shooting events were held at the Olympics, the ladies competed in mixed events, against the men. In fact, at the 1976 Games in Montreal, American shooter Margaret Murdock became the first woman to finish on the podium at an edition of the Olympics.
In a tight contest with her countryman Lanny Bassham, Margaret ended up with the silver because of the criteria used to break ties. Both athletes dominated the event, scoring 1,162 points each, but Bassham had managed three 100 points series, while his opponent had only managed two. However, even with the gold medal hanging from his neck, Bassham did not agree with the rule. In a rather unexpected and thrilling turn of events, he pulled his team-mate up to the highest spot on the podium when the United States anthem was played.
Nine countries with gold
At the 2012 London Games, nine different countries scooped up gold medals in the 15 shooting events. The only nations to win more than one title were the United States, South Korea, Italy and China. The Americans and South Koreans fared better, winning three gold medals each. The Italians and Chinese were right behind, taking two gold medals home.
In addition to them, Great Britain, Croatia, Cuba, Belarus and Romania also won gold medals.
See also
Confederação Brasileira de Tiro Esportivo (CBTE)
Site: www.cbte.org.br
Federação Internacional de Tiro Esportivo (ISSF): www.issf-sports.org
