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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 29: Kimberly Rhode of the United States reacts while competing in the Women’s Skeet Shooting final on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Royal Artillery Barracks on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 29: Kimberly Rhode of the United States reacts while competing in the Women’s Skeet Shooting final on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Royal Artillery Barracks on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Tokyo Olympics 2021 is almost around the corner. The mega-quadrennial games will finally take place after long last because of the pandemic.
In the Tokyo Olympics, 360 athletes will compete in the shooting sport. While out of 360, around 60 seats are reserved and the other 300 competed for. However, there is no age limit established by the Olympic committee for the sport.
Oscar Swahn oldest Olympian in the history
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Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics at 72. Swahn is also the oldest Olympian to clinch the gold medal.
Age is just a number, as a lot of veteran shooters are going to mark their places at Tokyo Olympics 2021. Successful American shooter Vincent Hancock is going to be part of the Tokyo Olympics at 32.
USA’s Kim Rhode is six times Olympic medalist. Rhode started shooting at 10 and is still playing at the age of 41, however won’t compete in Tokyo.
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 29: (L-R) Silver medalist Ning Wei of China, gold medalist Kimberly Rhode of the United States and bronze medalist Danka Bartekova of Slovakia pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Skeet Shooting on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Royal Artillery Barracks on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
USA’s Lydia Paterson played her maiden Olympic games at just 16 during the Rio Olympics 2016. In the Tokyo Olympics, 19-year-old, Austen Smith and Saurabh Chaudhry are going to represent the USA and India, respectively.
Hence, there is no age barrier decided by the Olympic committee. However, it is also the choice of National Olympic committees if they want to add eligibilities.
MQS and Quota Places for Tokyo Olympics 2021
In the Olympic shooting, athletes have to go through the qualification process to earn the Olympic berths. All shooters compete in the qualification tournaments decided by International Shooting Sport Federation.
ISSF also decided on the minimum qualification scores for all 15 events. When shooters hit the MQS, they are eligible to earn the quota.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 06: Virginia Thrasher of the United States competes in the 10m Air Rifle Women’s Finals on Day 1 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Shooting Centre on August 6, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
However, every Olympic quota won belongs to the nation and the National Olympic committee rather than the individual shooter.
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It is the discretion of NOC’s who they want to send to compete.?Every country can send a maximum of 30 shooters (15-men and 15-women).
The beauty of Olympic shooting is the diversity of young and veteran shooters. While some shooters will compete in their maiden games, some would hit the bull’s eye for the last time.
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Read More: 19-year-old Austen Smith Becomes the Youngest American Shooter in Tokyo Olympics 2021 team
