Paris 2024 Paralympics | Program, favorites... All you need to know about Para shooting events

From August 29 to September 5, the world's best Para shooters will gather at the Chateauroux shooting center. At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, a total of 13 gold medals will be awarded.

Where?

The Para tir sportif events will be held at the “Clairefontaine du tir”, in Déols, Indre. The only competition venue outside the Île-de-France region at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, this unique shooting center built on a former military camp is among the largest in Europe.

Located just a few kilometers from Châteauroux, the department's capital, this FFTir-supported project broke ground in 2018. Equipped with numerous shooting ranges to accommodate all the shooting events on the Games program, the site was extended in 2022 to accommodate a “finals” building. This building has since enabled it to host pistol and rifle shooting finals of the highest world standard.

Participants first take part in a qualification phase, in which competitors shoot sixty times at a target made up of ten concentric circles - each worth 1 point, as in archery, the closer one gets to the center of the target. The cumulative result of these shots, calculated to the nearest tenth according to the impact of the lead with a maximum of 10.9 points, determines the eight competitors who will take part in the final. During the final, successive shots eliminate the finalists one by one, until the winner is decided.

When?

As in Para archery, eight days are reserved for Para sport shooting competitions at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Indeed, it's from Thursday August 29 - with the pre-competition training day - to Thursday September 5 that competitions are scheduled with 13 medal-awarding tournaments.

What are the classification rules?

There are two classification categories in Para sport shooting (SH stands for Shooting):

• SH1: Athletes in this category support the weight of the rifle with their arms and shoot in a standing or sitting position (in a wheelchair or chair, depending on the nature of their disability). In SH1, it is possible to shoot either pistol or rifle.
• SH2: The rifle is the only weapon used. Athletes in this category cannot carry the rifle without assistance. They benefit from a support system for their rifle, called a gallows. This system is mobile, so that it only acts to support the weight of the weapon, while leaving the shooter responsible for aiming and release. Some athletes may use an assistant to load their rifle.

Pistol (P standing for Pistol) or rifle (R standing for Rifle) events will be varied:

• P1: 10 m air pistol SH1 men
• P2: 10 m air pistol SH1 ladies
• P3: 25 m pistol SH1 mixed
• P4: 50 m pistol SH1 mixed

• R1: 10 m air rifle SH1 standing men
• R2: 10 m air rifle SH1 standing women
• R3: 10 m air rifle SH1 recumbent mixed
• R4: 10 m air rifle SH2 standing mixed
• R5: 10 m air rifle SH2 recumbent mixed
• R6: 50 m rifle SH1 recumbent mixed
• R7: 50 m rifle SH1 3 positions men
• R8: rifle 50 m SH1 3 positions women
• R9: rifle 50 m SH2 recumbent mixed

Who will it be?

Among the 160 shooters who will gather in Châteauroux this summer, a number of top names will be on show. Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova, winner of 6 Paralympic medals including 4 gold medals and the title in 50 m rifle recumbent R6 at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and India's Avani Lekhara, the first woman to win a gold medal for India at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 10 m rifle standing R2, will be among those to watch.

In all, nine athletes will represent the French Para Shooting team, with good medal prospects: Gaëlle Edon, Cédric Fèvre-Chevalier, Jean-Louis Michaud, Romain Ramalingom-Sellemoutou, Didier Richard, Justine Beve, Tanguy de la Forest, Pierre Guillaume-Sage and Kévin Liot.

How can you attend?

Tickets are available from the official Paris 2024 Games ticket office. For the return match after the Olympic Games, take advantage of the opportunity and treat yourself to a second dose of happiness and thrills with tickets starting at 15 euros!