Shooting: Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021

Shooting is a core Olympic sport. Despite having featured at the inaugural modern Olympiad, shooting wasn't part of the 1904 and 1928 games. However, it has been part of the sporting extravaganza consistently ever since the 1932 Games in Los Angeles.

The Mexico 1968 games were the first time where women competed at shooting events. In the subsequent games, the men's event became a mixed event and remained that way until 1984 where women got their first event i.e. air rifle, pistol, and rifle 3 positions.

Shooting events present a test of the competitors' speed, stillness, and accuracy while under pressure. In this sport, timing, precision, and accuracy are important as the difference between a medal and the last spot can be less than a fraction of an inch.

It is one of the few sports where competitors can feature despite entering and going past their dotage. Hence, when looking at some of the most tenured Olympians, it won't be a surprise to know that a lot of them are shooters. 

The overall Olympics medal tally leader, the United States of America, rules the roost in this discipline too. Having fielded a representative for shooting at every single Olympics it has been a part of, America has claimed a whopping 54 gold, 29 silver, and 27 bronze i.e. 110 medals. 

Carl Osburn is the most decorated shooter in Olympics history. He claimed a whopping 11 medals (5 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze) across three games. 

Shooting at Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021

The Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021 will feature an equal number of men's and women's events for the first time in the discipline's history at the event. This change was because of the reduction of three men's events (free pistol, double trap, and rifle prone) from Rio 2016. 

There will be 15 shooting gold medals up for grabs across 15 unique events at the 2021 Olympics. The shooting events will begin on day 2 of the Tokyo 2020-2021 Olympics with the Men's 10 m Air Pistol and Women's 10 m Air Rifle getting underway on July 24.

Shooting will conclude on August 2 with the Men's 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol and Men's 50 m Rifle 3 positions. 

At the 2020 Olympics' shooting events, the total number of athletes across rifle, pistol, and shotgun will be 360. (180 men and 180 women). Out of these 360 competitors, 12 will be from the home nation Japan. They will look to make the most of these unique Olympics where international fans will not be permitted to attend the events at the Asaka Shooting Range.

Top Olympic shooters in Tokyo 2020-2021

Team USA will field 19 shooters as part of their extensive contingent at Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021. The country will have eight shooters each in rifle and shotgun and 5 in the pistol. The twenty-one strong shooting squad will include the likes of Will Shaner, Mary Tucker, Ali Weisz, Patrick Sunderman, Nick Mowrer, James Hall, Sandra Uptagrafft, and Vincent Hancock. 

Another name to keep your eyes on is the Korean shooter, Jin Jong-oh. He will be gunning for a medal at his fourth Olympics after claiming in Rio 2016 at the 50 m pistol event. 

Meanwhile, Nino Salukvadze will enter her ninth Olympics. She will equal Afanasijs Kuzmins tally of nine Olympic appearances. Furthermore, she will become the first female to represent her country at an Olympic meet for the ninth time. 

Competition format

All 15 shooting events at Tokyo 2020-2021 will feature a qualification stage and finals. However, only the Women's 25 m Pistol event will have a precision stage a day before the qualification and finals.

After seeing success 5 years ago in Brazil, the Olympics 2020 will also see the process of no shooter being allowed to carry their qualification scores to the finals. Instead, they will have to start from 0, thus making for an intriguing elimination shootout for gold. 

Type of Shooting

There will be three disciplines in shooting at the Tokyo 2020-2021 games. These will include Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun events. 

Read More: What are the Shooting Events at Tokyo Olympics 2021?

Shooting Events Schedule for Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021

Venue for Shooting at Tokyo 2020

All the shooting events at the Tokyo Olympics 2020-2021 will take place at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo itself.