Shooting

Sport shooting has three main branches: rifle (10 and 50 metres), pistol (10 and 25 metres) and shotgun events at flying targets (trap and skeet). Victory depends on steady nerves and control of breathing and concentration.

History

Shooting has been on the Olympic programme since 1896 — Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, was himself a French pistol champion. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) was founded in 1907.

Major competitions

The Olympic Games, the ISSF World Championships and World Cup series, and the European and Asian Championships.

Shooting in the Turkic world

Hungary's Károly Takács lost his right hand in an explosion, taught himself to shoot left-handed and won the 25 m rapid-fire pistol at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. Azerbaijan's Zemfira Meftahatdinova became Olympic trap champion at Sydney 2000 and won bronze in 2004.

Türkiye's Yusuf Dikeç won silver in the 10 m air pistol mixed team event at Paris 2024 with Şevval İlayda Tarhan; his calm style, shooting without special equipment, became famous around the world.