The Paris 2024 Olympic Games was the first to reach gender parity amongst its athletes across the board, a long time since women first competed in shooting sport at the Mexico City 1968 Games.
Although women competed in shooting much later than in other sports, it has become the great example of female excellence at the same level as their male counterparts.
Not only does shooting sport allow men and women to compete in the mixed team events, but it is common to see women outscore men in the same event.
So many athletes tasted glory and many faced heartbreak. Most of all, some made history.
Adriana Ruano Oliva has a lot to thank for her success in her career, but mostly a serious spinal injury.
Once a budding gymnast with dreams of competing at the Olympic Games, her hopes were shattered when six damaged vertebrae made a career in the sport unfeasible. A period of despair would follow for the teenager, only saved by a doctor’s recommendation to take up shooting to remain active without aggravating her injuries.
Volunteering turned out to be the greatest decision of Ruano’s life when she acted as an assistant on the shooting range at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She was inspired by the host nation Brazil’s performances, which instilled belief that other Latin American countries could make it onto the podium.
Five years on from helping on the range, she was picking out targets on it in the Women’s Trap, unfortunately finishing last in qualification at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics shortly after the passing of her father.
Three years on from that, she was in complete control in the Women’s Trap Final, leading from the opening series and finishing with a new Olympic record of 45 points and the gold medal. As a 16-year-old, she would have hoped to make history for Guatemala in artistic gymnastics; instead, at 29 she became her country’s first-ever Olympic champion.
But the Olympics is not all about winning. Some of the great memories from the Games come from the perseverance of those not at the top of the podium.
Most new mothers spend those early months resting with their new-born child. Some cannot afford that luxury. In the case of Amber Rutter, it was a race against time. Just a month after giving birth to her son Tommy, the Briton was back on the range, accompanied by her baby. Three months after pregnancy, she became an Olympic silver medallist after missing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Rutter was edged out for the gold medal in the Women’s Skeet, but that disappointment was swamped by the overwhelming sense of pride. A new mother surrounded by the right people with her baby boy in attendance, not yet aware of the hero their mum is.
“It makes it a hell of a lot easier knowing I’ve got such a great support team at home with my husband and my family,” said Rutter.
“I really hope just being here will make him proud, and one day he will look at it and go, ‘My mummy was in the Olympics’."
We’ve spoken about historic firsts and inspirational strong women, but in many respects this summer of pop culture has shown typical female empowerment is out; and cool, relatable women are in.
While social media continues to be the bane of many people’s existence, it has the power for good, or in this case, the ridiculous.
Sometimes the winner is not the athlete people remember the most. Oh Ye-jin was fantastic in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol Final, securing the gold, but it was her Korean teammate Kim Ye-ji, the silver medallist, that people were speaking about for days to come.
Footage from the ISSF World Cup in Baku earlier this year surfaced on social media, showing Kim looking incredibly relaxed as she nonchalantly breaks the Women’s 25m Pistol world record. The unspoken charisma made everyone online want to be her or be with her and importantly showed shooting for what it is – a very cool sport.
From there, the memes were out of control. Fan art was created in the dozens for Kim and other internet sensation, “Turkish Dad” Yusuf Dikec, while other athletes across disciplines would find their own fame. The Korean, unbeknownst to her, started a trend that has, pardon the pun, shot our sport into the spotlight.
But while we remember the future, we must also remember those who created the present. No finals were made this year, but Georgia’s Nino Salukvadze is a history-maker in another way. The three-time Olympic medallist became the first athlete to compete at 10-consecutive Olympic Games and will be eyeing an outright record of 11 Olympic Games appearances in Los Angeles.
Salukvadze’s career is remarkable in its longevity. On her Olympic debut at 19, she won the Women’s 25m Pistol and claimed silver in the 10m Air Pistol at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. Her debut was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union, which would dissolve before Barcelona 1992, with the then-23-year-old being part of the Unified Team. From Atlanta 1996 onwards, Salukvadze has represented the independent nation of Georgia throughout its post-Soviet history.
Famously at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, she made a sign of peace with her Russian opponent Natalia Paderina on the Women’s 10m Air Pistol podium during the Russo-Georgian War, a powerful promotion of peace. A new generation of her family became an Olympian, as her son Tsotne Machavariani made the shooting sport team with her at the Rio 2016 Games.
In an interview with the Olympics YouTube channel, she suggested she would not be able to continue past Tokyo due to her eyesight, yet here she was in both individual pistol events. She spoke about equestrian’s Ian Miller being the only athlete to have also participated at 10 Olympic Games in an interview at Chateauroux.
“Only one man from Canada [has matched me], and now it’s gender equality,” said Salukvadze.
“After my first Olympic Games, I not think about 10 Olympic Games.
“If I took two gold medals in Seoul – I took home gold and silver – maybe I would not continue, God knows. I’m proud.”
That pessimism for Paris seems to have subsided and although the future is uncertain for the 55-year-old, Los Angeles will certainly be on the mind.
Whether excellence, perseverance or just through their aura, it’s an Olympic Games to remember for women in shooting and one that has captured the beauty of our sport.