Free rifle at the Olympics

Free rifle
at the Olympic Games
Rifle shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Overview
SportShooting
GenderMen and women
Years heldMen: At least one event every year shooting has been held (i.e., excl. 1904 and 1928)
Women: 1984–2020
Reigning champion
Men Zhang Changhong (CHN)
Women Nina Christen (SUI)

The free rifle is a group of events held at the Olympics, beginning in 1896 and continuing to the current programme. Current nomenclature drops the "free" and refers to the event type as the "rifle." The women's 50-metre version has also been called the "standard" and "sport" rifle. The "free" rifle is distinct from the military, air, and small-bore rifle events.

The current Olympic program includes two free rifle events: the ISSF 50 meter rifle three positions for both men (since 1952) and women (since 1984; women were nominally allowed to compete with the men from 1968 to 1980, although very few women participated these years). Two other events were held for numerous Games: the 300 m rifle three positions for men from 1900 to 1920 and from 1948 to 1972 and the ISSF 50 meter rifle prone for men from 1912 to 2016 (excluding 1920 and 1924). The 300 m rifle prone is a shooting discipline held at the world championships but never consistently at the Olympics.

In 1896, a 300-meter free rifle event was held without position requirements. In 1900, medals were awarded for each of the three positions in the 300-metre free rifle competition, using the scores from the full individual event. Four team events were held, with individual scores summed to give a team result in 1900 and 1920 and separate team shooting in 1908 and 1912. A 600-meter event for men was held in 1912, a 600-meter prone event for men in 1924, and a 1000-yard event for men in 1908.

50 m rifle three positions

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1952 Helsinki
details
Erling Kongshaug
 Norway
Vilho Ylönen
 Finland
Boris Andreyev
 Soviet Union
1956 Melbourne
details
Anatoli Bogdanov
 Soviet Union
Otakar Hořínek
 Czechoslovakia
John Sundberg
 Sweden
1960 Rome
details
Viktor Shamburkin
 Soviet Union
Marat Nyýazow
 Soviet Union
Klaus Zähringer
 United Team of Germany
1964 Tokyo
details
Lones Wigger
 United States
Velichko Velichkov
 Bulgaria
László Hammerl
 Hungary
1968 Mexico City
details (mixed)
Bernd Klingner
 West Germany
John Writer
 United States
Vitaly Parkhimovich
 Soviet Union
1972 Munich
details (mixed)
John Writer
 United States
Lanny Bassham
 United States
Werner Lippoldt
 East Germany
1976 Montreal
details (mixed)
Lanny Bassham
 United States
Margaret Murdock[1]
 United States
Werner Seibold
 West Germany
1980 Moscow
details (mixed)
Viktor Vlasov
 Soviet Union
Bernd Hartstein
 East Germany
Sven Johansson
 Sweden
1984 Los Angeles
details
Malcolm Cooper
 Great Britain
Daniel Nipkow
 Switzerland
Alister Allan
 Great Britain
1988 Seoul
details
Malcolm Cooper
 Great Britain
Alister Allan
 Great Britain
Kirill Ivanov
 Soviet Union
1992 Barcelona
details
Hrachya Petikyan
 Unified Team
Robert Foth
 United States
Ryohei Koba
 Japan
1996 Atlanta
details
Jean-Pierre Amat
 France
Sergey Belyayev
 Kazakhstan
Wolfram Waibel
 Austria
2000 Sydney
details
Rajmond Debevec
 Slovenia
Juha Hirvi
 Finland
Harald Stenvaag
 Norway
2004 Athens
details
Jia Zhanbo
 China
Michael Anti
 United States
Christian Planer
 Austria
2008 Beijing
details
Qiu Jian
 China
Jury Sukhorukov
 Ukraine
Rajmond Debevec
 Slovenia
2012 London
details
Niccolò Campriani
 Italy
Kim Jong-Hyun
 South Korea
Matthew Emmons
 United States
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details
Niccolò Campriani
 Italy
Sergey Kamenskiy
 Russia
Alexis Raynaud
 France
2020 Tokyo
details
Zhang Changhong
 China
Sergey Kamenskiy
 ROC
Milenko Sebić
 Serbia
2024 Paris
details
Liu Yukun
 China
Serhiy Kulish
 Ukraine
Swapnil Kusale
 India

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Malcolm Cooper  Great Britain (GBR) 1984–1988 2 0 0 2
Niccolò Campriani  Italy (ITA) 2012–2016 2 0 0 2
3 John Writer  United States (USA) 1968–1972 1 1 0 2
Lanny Bassham  United States (USA) 1972–1976 1 1 0 2
5 Rajmond Debevec  Slovenia (SLO) 2000, 2008 1 0 1 2
6 Alister Allan  Great Britain (GBR) 1984–1988 0 1 1 2

Medalists by nation

[edit]
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 3 5 1 9
2  Soviet Union (URS) 3 1 3 8
3  China (CHN) 3 0 0 3
4  Great Britain (GBR) 2 1 1 4
5  Italy (ITA) 2 0 0 2
6  France (FRA) 1 0 1 2
 West Germany (FRG) 1 0 1 2
 Norway (NOR) 1 0 1 2
 Slovenia (SLO) 1 0 1 2
10  Unified Team (EUN) 1 0 0 1
11  Finland (FIN) 0 2 0 2
12  East Germany (GDR) 0 1 1 2
13  Bulgaria (BUL) 0 1 0 1
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) 0 1 0 1
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 0 1 0 1
 Russia (RUS) 0 1 0 1
 South Korea (KOR) 0 1 0 1
 Switzerland (SUI) 0 1 0 1
 Ukraine (UKR) 0 1 0 1
20  Austria (AUT) 0 0 2 2
 Sweden (SWE) 0 0 2 2
22  United Team of Germany (EUA) 0 0 1 1
 Hungary (HUN) 0 0 1 1
 Japan (JPN) 0 0 1 1

Women

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1984 Los Angeles
details
Wu Xiaoxuan
 China
Ulrike Holmer
 West Germany
Wanda Jewell
 United States
1988 Seoul
details
Silvia Sperber
 West Germany
Vesela Letcheva
 Bulgaria
Valentina Cherkasova
 Soviet Union
1992 Barcelona
details
Launi Meili
 United States
Nonka Matova
 Bulgaria
Małgorzata Książkiewicz
 Poland
1996 Atlanta
details
Aleksandra Ivošev
 FR Yugoslavia
Irina Gerasimenok
 Russia
Renata Mauer
 Poland
2000 Sydney
details
Renata Mauer
 Poland
Tatiana Goldobina
 Russia
Maria Feklistova
 Russia
2004 Athens
details
Lioubov Galkina
 Russia
Valentina Turisini
 Italy
Wang Chengyi
 China
2008 Beijing
details
Du Li
 China
Kateřina Emmons
 Czech Republic
Eglis Yaima Cruz
 Cuba
2012 London
details
Jamie Lynn Gray
 United States
Ivana Maksimović
 Serbia
Adéla Sýkorová
 Czech Republic
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details
Barbara Engleder
 Germany
Zhang Binbin
 China
Du Li
 China
2020 Tokyo
details
Nina Christen
 Switzerland
Yulia Zykova
 ROC
Yulia Karimova
 ROC
2024 Paris
details
Chiara Leone
 Switzerland
Sagen Maddalena
 United States
Zhang Qiongyue
 China

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Renata Mauer  Poland (POL) 1996–2000 1 0 1 2
Du Li  China (CHN) 2008, 2016 1 0 1 2

Medalists by nation

[edit]
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  China (CHN) 2 1 2 5
2  United States (USA) 2 0 1 3
3  Russia (RUS) 1 2 1 4
4  West Germany (FRG) 1 1 0 2
5  Poland (POL) 1 0 2 3
6  Germany (GER) 1 0 0 1
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 1 0 0 1
8  Bulgaria (BUL) 0 2 0 2
9  Czech Republic (CZE) 0 1 1 2
10  Italy (ITA) 0 1 0 1
 Serbia (SRB) 0 1 0 1
12  Cuba (CUB) 0 0 1 1
 Soviet Union (URS) 0 0 1 1

50 m rifle prone

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1908 London
details
Arthur Carnell
 Great Britain
Harold Humby
 Great Britain
George Barnes
 Great Britain
1912 Stockholm
details
Frederick Hird
 United States
William Milne
 Great Britain
Henry Burt
 Great Britain
1920 Antwerp Not held
1924 Paris Not held
1928 Amsterdam Not held
1932 Los Angeles
details
Bertil Rönnmark
 Sweden
Gustavo Huet
 Mexico
Zoltán Soós-Ruszka Hradetzky
 Hungary
1936 Berlin
details
Willy Røgeberg
 Norway
Ralph Berzsenyi
 Hungary
Władysław Karaś
 Poland
1948 London
details
Arthur Cook
 United States
Walter Tomsen
 United States
Jonas Jonsson
 Sweden
1952 Helsinki
details
Iosif Sîrbu
 Romania
Boris Andreyev
 Soviet Union
Arthur Jackson
 United States
1956 Melbourne
details
Gerald Ouellette
 Canada
Vasily Borisov
 Soviet Union
Gil Boa
 Canada
1960 Rome
details
Peter Kohnke
 United Team of Germany
James Enoch Hill
 United States
Enrico Forcella
 Venezuela
1964 Tokyo
details
László Hammerl
 Hungary
Lones Wigger
 United States
Tommy Pool
 United States
1968 Mexico City
details (mixed)
Jan Kůrka
 Czechoslovakia
László Hammerl
 Hungary
Ian Ballinger
 New Zealand
1972 Munich
details (mixed)
Ri Ho-jun
 North Korea
Victor Auer
 United States
Nicolae Rotaru
 Romania
1976 Montreal
details (mixed)
Karlheinz Smieszek
 West Germany
Ulrich Lind
 West Germany
Gennadi Lushchikov
 Soviet Union
1980 Moscow
details (mixed)
Károly Varga
 Hungary
Hellfried Heilfort
 East Germany
Petar Zapryanov
 Bulgaria
1984 Los Angeles
details
Edward Etzel
 United States
Michel Bury
 France
Michael Sullivan
 Great Britain
1988 Seoul
details
Miroslav Varga
 Czechoslovakia
Cha Young-chul
 South Korea
Attila Záhonyi
 Hungary
1992 Barcelona
details
Lee Eun-chul
 South Korea
Harald Stenvaag
 Norway
Stevan Pletikosić
 Independent Olympic Participants
1996 Atlanta
details
Christian Klees
 Germany
Sergey Belyayev
 Kazakhstan
Jozef Gönci
 Slovakia
2000 Sydney
details
Jonas Edman
 Sweden
Torben Grimmel
 Denmark
Sergei Martynov
 Belarus
2004 Athens
details
Matthew Emmons
 United States
Christian Lusch
 Germany
Sergei Martynov
 Belarus
2008 Beijing
details
Artur Ayvazyan
 Ukraine
Matthew Emmons
 United States
Warren Potent
 Australia
2012 London
details
Sergei Martynov
 Belarus
Lionel Cox
 Belgium
Rajmond Debevec
 Slovenia
2016 Rio de Janeiro
details
Henri Junghänel
 Germany
Kim Jong-hyun
 South Korea
Kirill Grigoryan
 Russia

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 László Hammerl  Hungary (HUN) 1964–1968 1 1 0 2
Matthew Emmons  United States (USA) 2004–2008 1 1 0 2
3 Sergei Martynov  Belarus (BLR) 2000–2004, 2012 1 0 2 3

Medalists by nation

[edit]
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 4 5 2 11
2  Hungary (HUN) 2 2 2 6
3  Germany (GER) 2 1 0 3
4  Sweden (SWE) 2 0 1 3
5  Czechoslovakia (TCH) 2 0 0 2
6  Great Britain (GBR) 1 2 3 6
7  South Korea (KOR) 1 2 0 3
8  West Germany (FRG) 1 1 0 2
 Norway (NOR) 1 1 0 2
10  Belarus (BLR) 1 0 2 3
11  Canada (CAN) 1 0 1 2
 Romania (ROU) 1 0 1 2
13  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 0 0 1
 North Korea (PRK) 1 0 0 1
 Ukraine (UKR) 1 0 0 1
16  Soviet Union (URS) 0 2 1 3
17  Belgium (BEL) 0 1 0 1
 Denmark (DEN) 0 1 0 1
 France (FRA) 0 1 0 1
 East Germany (GDR) 0 1 0 1
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 0 1 0 1
 Mexico (MEX) 0 1 0 1
23  Australia (AUS) 0 0 1 1
 Bulgaria (BUL) 0 0 1 1
 Independent Olympic Participants (IOP) 0 0 1 1
 New Zealand (NZL) 0 0 1 1
 Poland (POL) 0 0 1 1
 Russia (RUS) 0 0 1 1
 Slovakia (SVK) 0 0 1 1
 Slovenia (SLO) 0 0 1 1
 Venezuela (VEN) 0 0 1 1

300 m rifle three positions

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
Emil Kellenberger
 Switzerland
Anders Peter Nielsen
 Denmark
Paul Van Asbroeck
 Belgium
Ole Østmo
 Norway
1904 St. Louis Not held
1908 London
details
Albert Helgerud
 Norway
Harry Simon
 United States
Ole Sæther
 Norway
1912 Stockholm
details
Paul Colas
 France
Lars Jørgen Madsen
 Denmark
Niels Larsen
 Denmark
1920 Antwerp
details
Morris Fisher
 United States
Niels Larsen
 Denmark
Østen Østensen
 Norway
1924 Paris Not held
1928 Amsterdam Not held
1932 Los Angeles Not held
1936 Berlin Not held
1948 London
details
Emil Grünig
 Switzerland
Pauli Janhonen
 Finland
Willy Røgeberg
 Norway
1952 Helsinki
details
Anatoli Bogdanov
 Soviet Union
Robert Bürchler
 Switzerland
Lev Vainshtein
 Soviet Union
1956 Melbourne
details
Vasily Borisov
 Soviet Union
Allan Erdman
 Soviet Union
Vilho Ylönen
 Finland
1960 Rome
details
Hubert Hammerer
 Austria
Hans Rudolf Spillmann
 Switzerland
Vasily Borisov
 Soviet Union
1964 Tokyo
details
Gary Anderson
 United States
Shota Kveliashvili
 Soviet Union
Martin Gunnarsson
 United States
1968 Mexico City
details (mixed)
Gary Anderson
 United States
Valentin Kornev
 Soviet Union
Kurt Müller
 Switzerland
1972 Munich
details (mixed)
Lones Wigger
 United States
Boris Melnik
 Soviet Union
Lajos Papp
 Hungary

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Gary Anderson  United States (USA) 1964–1968 2 0 0 2
2 Vasily Borisov  Soviet Union (URS) 1956–1960 1 0 1 2
3 Niels Larsen  Denmark (DEN) 1912–1920 0 1 1 2

Medalists by nation

[edit]
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 4 1 1 6
2  Soviet Union (URS) 2 4 2 8
3  Switzerland (SUI) 2 2 1 5
4  Norway (NOR) 1 0 4 5
5  Austria (AUT) 1 0 0 1
 France (FRA) 1 0 0 1
7  Denmark (DEN) 0 3 1 4
8  Finland (FIN) 0 1 1 2
9  Belgium (BEL) 0 0 1 1
 Hungary (HUN) 0 0 1 1

300 m free rifle

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1896 Athens
details
Georgios Orphanidis
 Greece
Ioannis Frangoudis
 Greece
Viggo Jensen
 Denmark

300 m rifle kneeling

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
Konrad Stäheli
 Switzerland
Emil Kellenberger
 Switzerland
Anders Peter Nielsen
 Denmark
Not awarded

300 m rifle prone

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
Achille Paroche
 France
Anders Peter Nielsen
 Denmark
Ole Østmo
 Norway

300 m rifle standing

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
Lars Jørgen Madsen
 Denmark
Ole Østmo
 Norway
Charles Paumier
 Belgium

300 m rifle team

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
Emil Kellenberger, Franz Böckli, Konrad Stäheli, Louis Richardet, Alfred Grütter
 Switzerland
Ole Østmo, Helmer Hermandsen, Tom Seeberg, Ole Sæther, Olaf Frydenlund
 Norway
Achille Paroche, Auguste Cavadini, Léon Moreaux, Maurice Lecoq, René Thomas
 France
1904 St. Louis Not held
1908 London
details
Julius Braathe, Albert Helgerud, Einar Liberg, Olaf Sæther, Ole Sæther, Gudbrand Skatteboe
 Norway
Per-Olof Arvidsson, Janne Gustafsson, Axel Jansson, Gustaf Adolf Jonsson, Claës Rundberg, Gustav-Adolf Sjöberg
 Sweden
Eugène Balme, Albert Courquin, Raoul de Boigne, Léon Johnson, Maurice Lecoq, André Parmentier
 France
1912 Stockholm
details
Carl Björkman, Erik Blomqvist, Mauritz Eriksson, Hugo Johansson, Gustaf Adolf Jonsson, Bernhard Larsson
 Sweden
Albert Helgerud, Einar Liberg, Østen Østensen, Olaf Sæther, Ole Sæther, Gudbrand Skatteboe
 Norway
Niels Andersen, Jens Hajslund, Laurits Larsen, Niels Larsen, Lars Jørgen Madsen, Ole Olsen
 Denmark
1920 Antwerp
details
Dennis Fenton, Morris Fisher, Willis A. Lee, Carl Osburn, Lloyd Spooner
 United States
Albert Helgerud, Otto Olsen, Østen Østensen, Gudbrand Skatteboe, Olaf Sletten
 Norway
Gustave Amoudruz, Ulrich Fahrner, Fritz Kuchen, Werner Schneeberger, Bernard Siegenthaler
 Switzerland

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Ole Sæther  Norway (NOR) 1900, 1908–1912 1 2 0 3
Albert Helgerud  Norway (NOR) 1908–1920 1 2 0 3
Gudbrand Skatteboe  Norway (NOR) 1908–1920 1 2 0 3
4 Gustaf Adolf Jonsson  Sweden (SWE) 1908–1912 1 1 0 2
Einar Liberg  Norway (NOR) 1908–1912 1 1 0 2
Olaf Sæther  Norway (NOR) 1908–1912 1 1 0 2
7 Østen Østensen  Norway (NOR) 1912–1920 0 2 0 2

Medalists by nation

[edit]
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Norway (NOR) 1 3 0 3
2  Sweden (SWE) 1 1 0 2
3  Switzerland (SUI) 1 0 1 2
4  United States (USA) 1 0 0 1
5  France (FRA) 0 0 2 2
6  Denmark (DEN) 0 0 1 1

600 m rifle

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1912 Stockholm
details
Paul Colas
 France
Carl Osburn
 United States
John Jackson
 United States

600 m rifle prone

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1920 Antwerp
details
Morris Fisher
 United States
Carl Osburn
 United States
Niels Larsen
 Denmark

1000 yd rifle

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Games Gold Silver Bronze
1908 London
details
Joshua Millner
 Great Britain
Kellogg Casey
 United States
Maurice Blood
 Great Britain

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Murdock was the first woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting. From 1968 to 1980, the events were open to men and women competing together, before women's events were added in 1984.