Shooting was held at the 1st Olympics and all Olympics since then with the exception of 1904 and 1928. Women’s shooting began in 1984 with three events and is now up to six.  Some women have competed in men’s events in the past, including a couple of medal winners.  The US is the all-time leader with 103 medals including 50 golds (more than the next two countries combined).

The Team:

This year’s team is made up of 14 men and six women.  Nine of the athletes were part of the team in Beijing, six were part of the team in Athens, four were part of the team in Sydney and one was part of the team in Atlanta!  Lots of Olympic experience in this group.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Shooting
Men:
Matt Emmons** – 10m air rifle & 50m rifle three positions
Jonathan Hall – 10m air rifle
Michael McPhail – 50m rifle prone
Eric Uptagrafft – 50m rifle prone
Jason Parker*** – 50m rifle three positions
Daryl Szarenski*** – 10m air pistol
Jason Turner** – 10m air pistol
Emil Milev – 25m rapid fire pistol
Keith Sanderson* – 25m rapid fire pistol
Nick Mowrer – 50m pistol
Walton Eller*** – double trap
Josh Richmond – double trap
Vincent Hancock* – skeet
Frank Thompson – skeet

Women:
Jamie Gray – 10m air rifle & 50 m rifle three positions
Sarah Scherer – 10m air rifle
Amanda Furrer – 50m rifle three positions
Sandra Uptagrafft – 25m pistol
Corey Cogdell* – trap
Kim Rhode**** – skeet
* – Was part of the team in Beijing
** – Was part of the team in Beijing and Athens
*** – Was part of the team in Beijing, Athens, and Sydney
**** – Was part of the team in Beijing, Athens, Sydney, and Atlanta

Schedule:

I’ll try to explain the different events now.

10m air rifle – 10m distance, standing position, air rifle with max. weight of 12.13 lb
50m rifle prone – 50m distance, prone position, .22 long rifle
50m rifle three positions – 50m distance, prone, standing, and kneeing positions, .22 long rifle
10m air pistol – 10m distance, standing position, one hand using .177 caliber air pistol
25m rapid fire pistol – 25m distance, standing position, one hand raise from 45 degree position and fire quick five shots at target
50m pistol – 50m distance, standing position, one hand using .22 caliber pistol
double trap – shotgun to shoot clay disks which are shot to left and right of center, one shot at each target
skeet – shotgun to shoot at targets launched from two machines at differing heights (singles and doubles)
25m pistol – 24m distance, standing position, one hand using .22 caliber pistol
trap – shotgun to shoot clay disks which are shot at varying distances and speed

The events will start with a qualification round where all shooters will compete. The top shooters will compete in the final where they will take a few additional shots and add that total to their qualifying total to get their final total.

All Times ET
Saturday July 28th
3:15 AM – Women’s Shooting – 10m Air Rifle – Qualification
6 AM – Women’s Shooting – 10m Air Rifle – Final
7 AM – Men’s Shooting – 10m Air Pistol – Qualification
10:30 AM – Men’s Shooting – 10m Air Pistol – Final

Sunday July 29th
4 AM – Women’s Shooting – Skeet – Qualification
9 AM – Women’s Shooting – Skeet – Final

Monday July 30th
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – 10m Air Rifle – Qualification
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – Skeet – Qualification
7:15 AM – Men’s Shooting – 10m Air Rifle – Final

Tuesday July 31st
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – Skeet – Qualification
9 AM – Men’s Shooting – Skeet – Final

Wednesday August 1st
4 AM – Women’s Shooting – 25m Pistol – Qualification
10:30 AM – Women’s Shooting – 25m Pistol – Final

Thursday August 2nd
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – Double Trap – Qualification
5:30 AM – Men’s Shooting – 25m Rapid Fire Pistol – Qualification
10 AM – Men’s Shooting – Double Trap – Final

Friday August 3rd
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Prone – Qualification
5:30 AM – Men’s Shooting – 25m Rapid Fire Pistol – Qualification
7 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Prone – Final
9:30 AM – Men’s Shooting – 25m Rapid Fire Pistol – Final

Saturday August 4th
4 AM – Women’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Three Position – Qualification
4 AM – Women’s Shooting – Trap – Qualification
7:45 AM – Women’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Three Position – Final
10 AM – Women’s Shooting – Trap – Final

Sunday August 5th
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Pistol – Qualification
7:30 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Pistol – Final

Monday August 6th
4 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Three Position – Qualification
8:45 AM – Men’s Shooting – 50m Rifle Three Position – Final

Past Results:

Matt Emmons comes to the Olympics looking to win another medal after winning the silver in the 50m rifle prone in Beijing and the gold in the 50m rifle prone in Athens. Emmons won the bronze at the World Shooting Championship in 2010. Jason Parker didn’t make any finals in Beijing but finished 7th in the 10m air rifle in Athens. Daryl Szarenski has not made a final in the Olympics in his three trips, but he did finish 13th in Athens in the 10m air pistol.

Jason Turner will look to defend and improve upon his bronze medal in Beijing in the 10m air pistol, while Keith Sanderson will look to medal after finishing 5th despite an Olympic record in qualification period of the 25m rapid fire pistol. Walton Eller is the defending Olympic champion in double trap and set an Olympic record with his qualifying and final scores in Beijing. Vincent Hancock also won a gold in Beijing, the gold in skeet with Olympic records in qualifying and for his final score.

Corey Cogdell was the bronze medalists in trap in Beijing while Kim Rhode was the silver medalist in skeet. She was the gold medalist in double trap in Athens, the bronze medalist in double trap in Sydney and won gold in Atlanta in double trap. Rhode did win the gold at the 2010 World Shooting Championship and looks ready to challenge for the gold in London.

The US won six medals in Beijing and brings back all of those competitors. The six was as many as the US won in Athens and Sydney combined, but it looks the US has a chance to hit that mark again in London.