Competitive shooting was developed as a hunting sport, but has been a permanent fixture on the modern Olympic Games programme since the first games were held in Athens 1896.
In 2012, the greatest show on Earth comes to Great Britain for the London 2012 Olympics. Everybody here at The Big Shoot wants you to get the most from the games, and enjoy all the trigger-pulling action as it unfolds.
So, here’s some essential information regarding shooting at the 2012 games; as well as some that’s not really essential at all…but won’t hurt to know.
‘Need to Know’ Info
1. London 2012 will feature 3 shooting disciplines – rifle, pistol and shotgun.
2. Shooting events will take place at the Royal Artillery Barracks, in South East London.
3. Competitive triggers will be pulled between the dates of Saturday 28 July and Sunday 5 August. No target will be safe.
4. The Olympic shooting element comprises fifteen events in total. Each disciplines features five events; three for men and two for women.
5. This means that a total of fifteen gold medals are up for grabs.
6. A whopping three hundred and ninety competitors will be gunning for one of these.
7. Shotgun events follow the traditional clay shooting format which The Big Shoot fans will likely be familiar with.
8. Pistol and Rifle events require competitors to fire bullets at fixed targets from a set distance.
9. These targets consist of 10 rings with a bullseye in the middle.
10. Hitting the bullseye will bag the shooter a tremendous 10.9 points.
Not So ‘Need to Know’ Info
1. Around 275,000 clay targets will be used during shotgun competitions, and an even greater number of clay fragments will need to be swept up afterward.
2. At the first meeting of the modern Olympic Games, held in Athens 1896, there were more shooters in competition than any other form of athlete.
3. Between 1896 and 2004, an impressive 88 shooting medals have been picked up by Brits.
4. When Hungarian shooter Karoly Takac, lost his right arm to a grenade blast in 1938, he simply dusted himself down and took up shooting with his left hand. Ten years and a fair bit of practice later, he took home two gold medals from the London Olympics of 1948.
5. Another famous Olympian shooter is China’s Zhang Shan who became the first woman to take home the gold in a mixed-sex shooting event, at Barcelona 1992. In the aftermath of her triumph, the International Shooting Union stopped men and women competing against one another and female events were established.
The London 2012 Olympic Games are guaranteed to be an amazing spectacle, and the shooting events will be no exception.
We still have a great deal of time to wait before shots are fired. In the mean time you can read a great deal more about the games, right here. http://www.london2012.com
For news and information on all competitive shooting events, visit the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association at their official website. http://www.cpsa.co.uk