Sport week: Welcome to shooting

Shooting Para sport has featured at every Paralympic Games since 1976 and is today practised in more than 75 countries.

Athletes with physical impairments compete in rifle, pistol and trap events while athletes with vision impairments compete in rifle events.

Para shooters compete in events from distances of 10m, 25m and 50m in men’s, women’s and mixed competition.

Of the 13 Paralympic shooting events, seven are open to both women and men while three each are open only to women and men, respectively. A total of 154 shooters are set to compete at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Para trap and vision impaired events are not part of the shooting Para sport programme for next year’s Paralympic Games.

Shooting Para sport has also been part of the Asian Para Games since the first edition in Guangzhou, China in 2010. The sport made its debut at the Parapan American Games last year in Lima, Peru.

The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and co-ordinated by the World Shooting Para Sport Technical Committee and Management team.

It follows rules of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) in conjunction with its own World Shooting Para Sport Technical Rules and Regulations, which take into account considerations for Para athletes in shooting sport.

South Korea on top

South Korea tops the all-time Paralympic Games medals table followed by Sweden and Australia. Koreans and Swedes have both won 23 golds, but the Asians come first as they have claimed 18 silver against Sweden’s 10.

Thirty-seven nations have won shooting Para sport medals at the Paralympic Games. 
Sweden’s Jonas Jacobsson is the most decorated shooter as he secured 27 medals overall, including 17 gold, two silver and eight bronze.

The most successful female athlete in Paralympic Games history is Australia’s Elizabeth Kosmala, who won nine gold and three silver between 1976 and 1988.