How to qualify for shooting at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained
Shooting had the honour of being the sport that handed out the first gold medal at Tokyo 2020, and the rest of the competition did not disappoint. Once again, the sport will return to the Olympic programme for Paris 2024. Find out everything you need to know about the number of athletes, stars to watch and pathway to the qualification below.
Demanding immense precision and focus, shooting first appeared as one of the nine sports that were featured at the Olympic Games Athens 1896. Apart from St Louis 1904 and Amsterdam 1928, it has been a mainstay at every edition of the Olympic Games since.
While the shooting competition at Athens 1896 consisted of only five events, the Paris 2024 competition will include 15 rifle, pistol and shotgun events for men and women.
Find out everything you need to know about the Paris 2024 Olympic shooting competition below.
How many athletes will compete in shooting at Paris 2024?
In total, 170 men and 170 women will compete in shooting at Paris 2024. The total of 340 shooters is slightly less than the 360 shooters that competed at Tokyo 2020, which was held in 2021.
What are the requirements for athletes to be eligible for a quota?
All athletes must comply with the Olympic Charter and other relevant rules (read here for more details).
There is no age limit for athletes hoping to earn Olympic quotas of Paris 2024, but they do need to meet some additional criteria in order to gain one or more of the individual quotas for the next Games:
- Athletes must be listed in the Qualification Ranking for the Olympic Games (QROG) with at least one ranking point achieved for each of the individual events they are to be entered for at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
- Athletes must have participated in at least two ISSF Championships during the Qualifying period for each of the individual events in which they are to be entered for at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
What is the qualification pathway to Paris 2024?
340 shooters (170 per gender) in total will compete at Paris 2024.
As the host country, France will secure 12 quotas (6 per gender) for the shooting events of Paris 2024.
The host country will automatically qualify one male and one female athlete in each individual event on the condition that the athletes meet the eligibility requirements described above.
Host country places will only be granted in an event if host country athletes have not obtained a quota place in that event during the qualification period.
16 Universality quotas (8 per gender) are made available to eligible NOCs at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The Tripartite Commission will confirm, in writing, the allocation of Universality places to the relevant NOCs after the end of the qualification period for the sport concerned.
312 quotas (156 per gender) will be obtained in the designated ISSF Championships that are conducted according to ISSF Rules and take place between 14 August 2022 and 9 June 2024, with each NOC eligible to obtain a maximum of 24 quotas (12 for each gender max.) across all events.
NOCs can enter a maximum of two athletes in each of the individual events, and a maximum of two Mixed Teams in each of the Mixed Team events, comprising the same athletes who have qualified and are eligible to compete in the individual events.
For more information about the number of quota places, per event, that are available at each of the designated ISSF Championships, refer to pages 3 and 4 of the official Paris 2024 Shooting Qualification System.
The highest placed athletes will obtain one quota place for his/her NOC, respecting the maximum number of athletes per NOC mentioned above. One athlete can obtain only one quota place for his/her NOC.
The quota places are allocated to the NOC, except when quota places are achieved from the Qualification Ranking for the Olympic Games (QROG). These quota places will be awarded to individual athletes and may not be changed by the NOC.
The final QROG list published on 9 June 2024 will be used to allocate one quota place for each individual shooting event. Quota places will be awarded to the highest-ranked athlete from the QROG having not yet already qualified in any event and also provided the NOC of the same athlete has not already achieved more than one quota place in that event.
If at a designated ISSF Championship, a quota place is achieved by an athlete who has already obtained a quota place at any previous designated ISSF Championship in any individual event, the quota place must be granted to the next highest placed athlete, in that event, in a designated ISSF Championship.
The same rule applies when the NOC of an athlete has already obtained the maximum number of quota places in that event.
One NOC can obtain only one quota place in any of the individual events at one designated ISSF Championship.
All individual events consist of a Qualification stage and a final stage. A quota place can only be obtained in the final stage of any designated ISSF Championship.
An athlete with a quota place in one individual event may also get the right of participation in another individual event if he/she meets the eligibility requirements mentioned before and the maximum number of athletes per NOC in this second event is respected. Such right is awarded to the individual athlete and not to the NOC.
Mixed Team
Mixed Teams in each of the Mixed Team events must be composed of the same athletes who have qualified and are eligible to compete in the individual events.
In case the number of Mixed Teams entered in a 10m Air Rifle/10m Air Pistol Mixed Team events exceeds the available number of firing points for one (1) Qualification relay, the QROG will be used to determine the final entry list. The combined number of points according to the QROG in the respective individual events of 10m AR or 10m AP published on 9 June 2024 of both members of the Mixed Team will be taken into consideration.
If still a tie, the priority will be given to the Mixed Team with an athlete (male or female) who has the highest number of points according to the QROG published on 9 June 2024 in the individual event of the respective Mixed Team event.
The maximum number of Mixed Teams in the Skeet Mixed Team event is eighteen.
In case the number of Mixed Teams entered in the Skeet Mixed Team event exceeds eighteen, the QROG will be used to determine the final entry list. The combined number of points according to the QROG in Skeet individual events (published on 9 June 2024) of both members of the Mixed Team will be taken into consideration.
If still a tie, the priority will be given to the Mixed Team with an athlete (male or female) who has the highest number of points according to the QROG (published on 9 June 2024) in the Skeet individual event.
What are the Paris 2024 shooting competition format and schedule?
The shooting events will take place between the 27 July and the 5 August. The National Shooting Center in Chateauroux will be the venue.
There will be 15 shooting medal events scheduled for Paris 2024, the same as Tokyo 2020. These are:
- 10m Air Rifle (women’s / men’s / mixed team)
- 50m Rifle 3 Positions (women’s / men’s)
- 10m Air Pistol (women’s / men’s / mixed team)
- 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (men’s)
- 25m Pistol (women’s)
- Trap (women’s / men’s)
- Skeet (women’s / men’s / mixed team)
READ MORE: The competition schedule for Olympic Games Paris 2024 has been released
Shooting athletes to watch at Paris 2024
Shooters from the People’s Republic of China topped the medal table at Tokyo 2020 with 11 medals in total, including four golds. And age is on the side of the Chinese shooting team aiming for Paris 2024.
YANG Qian, the winner of the first gold medal of Tokyo 2020 topped the podium in both the women’s 10m air rifle and 10m air rifle mixed team events at the age of 20. She will attempt to defend her titles in Paris and, according to the sports calendar of Paris 2024 published on 25th July, 2022, she may have the chance to win the first gold medal of the Paris Games again, as the 10m air rifle mixed event will produce the first gold of Paris 2024.
SHENG Lihao (16), XIAO Jiaruixuan (19), ZHANG Changhong (21) and JIANG Ranxin (21) all brought home Olympic medals at a young age, and will attempt to add to their titles in the Capital of France.
20-year-old William Shaner, who started shooting when he was nine, celebrated victory in the 10m air rifle men's after a thrilling final where he defeated China's Sheng Lihao by only 0.7. He is the youngest American man ever to win a rifle event. Will he add more medals to his collection at Paris 2024?
France's Jean Quiquampoix upgraded his Rio 25m rapid fire pistol silver to gold in Tokyo, shooting a final score of 34 to match Leuris Pupo's gold medal-winning mark from London 2012, which is an Olympic record. He will once again attempt to defend his title on home soil at Paris 2024.
Shooting qualification timeline to Paris 2024
14 August 2022: Beginning of the qualifying period
24 August to 12 September 2022: 2022 European Championship Shotgun, Larnaca, Cyprus
5 to 18 September 2022: 2022 European Championship 25m/50m, Wroclaw, Poland
22 September to 11 October 2022: 2022 World Championship Shotgun, Osijek, Croatia
12 to 25 October 2022: 2022 World Championship Rifle and Pistol, Cairo, Egypt
4 to 14 November 2022: 2022 CAT XIll Championship, Lima, Peru
5 to 13 March 2023: 2023 European Championship 10m, Tallinn, Estonia
21 June to 2 July 2023: 2023 European Games, Poland
14 August to 1 September 2023: 2023 53rd World Championship, Baku, AZE
8 to 27 September 2023: 2023 European Championship Shotgun, Osijek. Croatia
1 to 10 October 2023: 2023 Africa Championship, Cairo, Egypt
20 October to 5 November 2023: 2023 Pan-American Games, Santiago, Chile
22 October to 2 November 2023: Asia Championship, Changwon, Korea
30 October to 6 November 2023: Oceania Championship. Brisbane, AUS
12-22 January 2024: Asia Championship, Shotgun, Kuwait City, Kuwait
24 February to 3 March 2024: European Championship, 10m, Gyor, Hungary
25 February to 9 March 2024: 2024 Asia Rifle and Pistol Championship, Jakarta, INA
TBD: European Qualification Tournament/Championships, 25m/50m Osijek, CRO
27 February to 25 March 2024: 2024 CAT XIV Championships, Shotgun, Santo Domingo, DOM
31 March to 7 April 2024: 2024 CAT XIV Championship, Rifle and Pistol, Buenos Aires, ARG
11 to 19 April 2024: 2024 Rifle and Pistol ISSF Olympic Qualification Championship, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22 to 30 April 2024: 2024 Final Shotgun ISSF Olympic Qualification Championship, Doha, QAT
15 to 27 May 2024: 2024 European Shotgun Championship, Lonato, Italy
9 June 2024: End of qualifying period
14 June 2024: The ISSF to confirm by email in writing to the NOCs the quota places obtained
21 June 2024: The NOCs to confirm to the ISSF by email the use of the allocated quota places
TBD: The Tripartite Commission to confirm in writing the allocatior of Universality places to the NOCs (where applicable)
28 June 2024: ISSF to reallocate all unused quota places
8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries deadline
26 July - 11 August 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024
Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will feature at Paris 2024.