Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Châteauroux, (historical) place of the first thrills of the Olympic fortnight

By Florian Burgaud
3 min|
PARIS2024-CTX-TIR-OLY-V8
Picture by Paris 2024

On July 27, the very first medals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be awarded in Châteauroux (Indre), location of the shooting events. Built on a former military camp, the venue will host no less than 28 competitions during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Since March 21, a giant countdown has taken place on the Place de la République in Châteauroux. This is because the sports shooting events for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are planned, starting July 27, in the city. More precisely, it is in the town of Déols (Indre), at the Shooting Center (CNTS), that the competitions will be held.

This Olympic site - the French Mecca of shooting - has a unique history having been, in the past, the military camp of La Martinerie. On the hundred hectares of this immense playground, the quarters of the 517th Train Regiment, specialized in road and armored transport for the army, have been installed since 1988. After the dissolution of the regiment, which occurred on May 23, 2012 following a final ceremony rich in emotions, it was the French Shooting Federation (FFTir) which acquired the land. At that time, the site was empty since no building was present apart from stand B6, covered and now used for zeroing (adjustments/calibrations) of weapons and the practice of sports shooting up to 200 meters.

Picture by Paris 2024/Thomas Padilla

Experience the Games in Châteauroux

The first medals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be awarded there

Anxious to bring together its twelve disciplines in one place, an unprecedented event on the Old Continent, the FFTir is building a brand new and ultra-modern shooting center there. Inaugurated in 2018 after two years of work, the Chateauroux Shooting Center is quite simply unique in Europe with its 140,000 m² of infrastructure in total, including a covered stand - open in May 2022 - meeting international standards and being able to accommodate 600 spectators.

Despite everything, initially, it was not this site which was to host the sports shooting of the Paris 2024 Games. Finally, after the withdrawal of the La Courneuve site, Châteauroux became a credible alternative to the point of officially inheriting the Olympic (15 finals) and Paralympic (13 finals) events in July 2022. Subsequently, the CNTS - which will accommodate a maximum of 3,000 people per day in the Olympic configuration and nearly 500 in the Paralympic period - was tested and approved last spring during a national competition.

All with an immense privilege: to award, on the morning of July 27, the very first medals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This will be during the mixed 10-meter air rifle competition. At that moment, the whole world's eyes will be focused on Châteauroux.

The virtual tour of the Chateauroux Shooting Centre

Discover the full program of shooting events at the Olympic Games

Discover the complete Para shooting sports program at the Paralympic Games