The traditional season opener, the ISSF Grand Prix, returns again as the first global competition of 2026, taking place in Ruse, Slovenia.
There will be six senior events: the men's and women's 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol, as well as mixed team events for both.
A total of 19 National Olympic Committees have entered, with over 100 athletes on the entry list, with competition set to take place from 16 to 18 January.
10m Air Pistol
For many young athletes the ISSF Grand Prix in Ruse is the first proving ground as an elite competitor. One of those to emerge recently is Slovenia's best chance of a gold medal - last year's women's 10m air pistol winner Manja Slak. The 2024 world junior champion is still just 19 years old and has a best finish of sixth at the ISSF World Cup in Munich in 2024 and finished 11th at the European Championship last year.
The highest-ranked athlete in the field is Sara Fabian from Hungary. The 23-year-old is 13th in the world and has a best World Championship finish of fourth from 2023, having just missed the 2025 final. Despite her experience, she is yet to win a medal at the ISSF Grand Prix and will hope to change that this year.
Armenia's Elmira Karapetyan is another contender, having finished one place away from the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and coming in as an ISSF World Cup winner from 2023. She was runner-up the last time she was in Ruse, in 2024. Spain's Ines Ortega Castro is another young prospect worth watching, having a top 20 finish at the European Championship and 26th at the ISSF World Championship in 2025.
The men's 10m air pistol field is led in the world rankings by Romania's Luca Joldea, placed 20th. The 21-year-old, much like Slak, was the junior world champion in Lima in 2024 and won the junior title here in Ruse in consecutive seasons. He also has a best finish of 15th on the ISSF World Cup circuit from Munich last year. Juraj Tuzinsky of Slovakia, 20 years his senior, is two places behind him in the world rankings and will feature too. He won the 2024 gold in Ruse and won the European title last year in Osijek. He is also a three-time World Cup winner.
Other contenders include Benik Khlghatyan of Armenia, who is another two spots below Tuzinsky in the world rankings. More of a mixed team specialist with Karapetyan, he has also shown quality individually too with an ISSF Grand Prix bronze from 2023 and 14th at the 2025 ISSF World Cup leg in Munich. Spain brings a young team with them too, the pick of the bunch being teenager Lucas Sanchez Tome, an ISSF Junior World Cup medallist from last year, with a respectable 33rd-place finish in Ningbo in his second ISSF World Cup event. His compatriot Nicolas Fraga Corredoira was just behind him in Ningbo and could be an outside contender for the podium.
There will be six senior events: the men's and women's 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol, as well as mixed team events for both.
A total of 19 National Olympic Committees have entered, with over 100 athletes on the entry list, with competition set to take place from 16 to 18 January.
10m Air Pistol
For many young athletes the ISSF Grand Prix in Ruse is the first proving ground as an elite competitor. One of those to emerge recently is Slovenia's best chance of a gold medal - last year's women's 10m air pistol winner Manja Slak. The 2024 world junior champion is still just 19 years old and has a best finish of sixth at the ISSF World Cup in Munich in 2024 and finished 11th at the European Championship last year.
The highest-ranked athlete in the field is Sara Fabian from Hungary. The 23-year-old is 13th in the world and has a best World Championship finish of fourth from 2023, having just missed the 2025 final. Despite her experience, she is yet to win a medal at the ISSF Grand Prix and will hope to change that this year.
Armenia's Elmira Karapetyan is another contender, having finished one place away from the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and coming in as an ISSF World Cup winner from 2023. She was runner-up the last time she was in Ruse, in 2024. Spain's Ines Ortega Castro is another young prospect worth watching, having a top 20 finish at the European Championship and 26th at the ISSF World Championship in 2025.
The men's 10m air pistol field is led in the world rankings by Romania's Luca Joldea, placed 20th. The 21-year-old, much like Slak, was the junior world champion in Lima in 2024 and won the junior title here in Ruse in consecutive seasons. He also has a best finish of 15th on the ISSF World Cup circuit from Munich last year. Juraj Tuzinsky of Slovakia, 20 years his senior, is two places behind him in the world rankings and will feature too. He won the 2024 gold in Ruse and won the European title last year in Osijek. He is also a three-time World Cup winner.
Other contenders include Benik Khlghatyan of Armenia, who is another two spots below Tuzinsky in the world rankings. More of a mixed team specialist with Karapetyan, he has also shown quality individually too with an ISSF Grand Prix bronze from 2023 and 14th at the 2025 ISSF World Cup leg in Munich. Spain brings a young team with them too, the pick of the bunch being teenager Lucas Sanchez Tome, an ISSF Junior World Cup medallist from last year, with a respectable 33rd-place finish in Ningbo in his second ISSF World Cup event. His compatriot Nicolas Fraga Corredoira was just behind him in Ningbo and could be an outside contender for the podium.
10m Air Rifle
The women's 10m air rifle has a few standout performers on the entry list, with promising athletes in with a chance of a medal too. It is hard to look past Republic of Korea's Kwon Eun-ji and Germany's Anna Janssen for places on the podium. Kwon had a stellar 2025, winning two ISSF World Cup silver medals and Asian bronze, finishing the season with seventh at the ISSF World Championship and sixth at the ISSF World Cup Final. Surprisingly, she has never won a medal at the ISSF Grand Prix and will look to write that wrong.
Janssen's 2025 was not her best to date in what is already a fantastic resume for the 24-year-old, but the German would break the qualification world record at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. She would just miss the final of the women's 10m air rifle at the ISSF World Championship and made two ISSF World Cup finals but ended without medals. However, she finished on a high, with a bronze medal at the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final in the 50m rifle 3 positions, which also took place in Doha. She took silver in Ruse in 2024.
Her German teammates Hanna Buehlmeyer and Nele Stark will also be contenders. Buehlmeyer made her international debut last year at the age of 28 and finished a respectable 25th at the ISSF World Championship and 17th at the European Championship. Stark, just 22, has years of junior experience and showed a real moment of promise on her ISSF World Cup debut in Buenos Aires where she finished sixth in the 50m rifle 3 positions final.
There is a strong Balkans presence in the field too. Farah Onescuk is the top athlete from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the 19-year-old ranked 37th in the world. She finished 18th at the ISSF World Championship in Cairo, a strong showing. She now looks to improve on her eighth place from last year. Croatia bring a youngster of their own in the form of Anamarija Turk. The 21-year-old won the junior title in Ruse last year and will look to perform well now in the senior ranks. Romania's Laura-Georgeta Ilie is also a contender for the medals, having two ISSF World Cup Final medals to her name and three European titles.
We could see a stacked final in the men's 10m air rifle, which will feature Olympic silver medallist and 2023 world champion Victor Lindgren of Sweden, as well as 2025 world champion Maximilian Dallinger from Germany. Both bring strong contingents with them from their home nations: Marcus Madsen will also don the Swedish colours, while Germany bring 2023 European champion and 2024 ISSF Grand Prix winner Maximilian Ulbrich amongst their athletes.
Hungary's Istvan Peni, ranked fourth in the world, will be a serious contender for gold, as will the Croatians three-time Olympic finallist Petar Gorsa and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Miran Miracic. Home interest will be with Maksimilijan Zaric, who won the junior title last year. Australia's Jack Rossiter, who placed eighth at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final, will also be in contention.
The women's 10m air rifle has a few standout performers on the entry list, with promising athletes in with a chance of a medal too. It is hard to look past Republic of Korea's Kwon Eun-ji and Germany's Anna Janssen for places on the podium. Kwon had a stellar 2025, winning two ISSF World Cup silver medals and Asian bronze, finishing the season with seventh at the ISSF World Championship and sixth at the ISSF World Cup Final. Surprisingly, she has never won a medal at the ISSF Grand Prix and will look to write that wrong.
Janssen's 2025 was not her best to date in what is already a fantastic resume for the 24-year-old, but the German would break the qualification world record at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. She would just miss the final of the women's 10m air rifle at the ISSF World Championship and made two ISSF World Cup finals but ended without medals. However, she finished on a high, with a bronze medal at the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final in the 50m rifle 3 positions, which also took place in Doha. She took silver in Ruse in 2024.
Her German teammates Hanna Buehlmeyer and Nele Stark will also be contenders. Buehlmeyer made her international debut last year at the age of 28 and finished a respectable 25th at the ISSF World Championship and 17th at the European Championship. Stark, just 22, has years of junior experience and showed a real moment of promise on her ISSF World Cup debut in Buenos Aires where she finished sixth in the 50m rifle 3 positions final.
There is a strong Balkans presence in the field too. Farah Onescuk is the top athlete from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the 19-year-old ranked 37th in the world. She finished 18th at the ISSF World Championship in Cairo, a strong showing. She now looks to improve on her eighth place from last year. Croatia bring a youngster of their own in the form of Anamarija Turk. The 21-year-old won the junior title in Ruse last year and will look to perform well now in the senior ranks. Romania's Laura-Georgeta Ilie is also a contender for the medals, having two ISSF World Cup Final medals to her name and three European titles.
We could see a stacked final in the men's 10m air rifle, which will feature Olympic silver medallist and 2023 world champion Victor Lindgren of Sweden, as well as 2025 world champion Maximilian Dallinger from Germany. Both bring strong contingents with them from their home nations: Marcus Madsen will also don the Swedish colours, while Germany bring 2023 European champion and 2024 ISSF Grand Prix winner Maximilian Ulbrich amongst their athletes.
Hungary's Istvan Peni, ranked fourth in the world, will be a serious contender for gold, as will the Croatians three-time Olympic finallist Petar Gorsa and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Miran Miracic. Home interest will be with Maksimilijan Zaric, who won the junior title last year. Australia's Jack Rossiter, who placed eighth at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final, will also be in contention.