The world will turn its eyes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5 to 21, 2016 as they host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. More than 10,500 athletes from 206 countries – including Kosovo and South Sudan for the first time – are expected to compete for 306 sets of medals in 28 sports.
Shooting events have been included in every Summer Olympics since the first Olympiad in 1896 with the exception of the 1904 and 1928 Games. Men’s shooting was one of nine events at the Games in Athens in 1896 and women were eventually allowed to pick up the rifles in 1984. The shooting events in Paris in 1900 used pigeons as live targets but they were replaced at the next games with the more traditional clay targets. Currently 15 different shooting events are included in the Summer Games.
The United States has won the most shooting medals with 107 and Canada has competed in 19 Summer Olympics in shooting and won 9 medals.