After the success of the 1896 Olympics Games the shooting community decided to conduct international shooting matches that came to be known as World Championships. The first championship was held in 1897 in Lyons, France and the 50th edition will be held in Munich, GER in August 2010. The only break in the championships was the two war periods 1915-1920 and 1940-1946.
In 1897 the 300 meter Free Rifle (full bore) was the only event conducted. Four champions were awarded for the 60 shots 3x20 aggregate, and the prone, kneeling and standing sub events. In 1900 the 50 meter Free Pistol event became the first pistol event that was added. Women events were added starting in 1958 and a full junior men and women program included in 1994.
Over the years the championships progressed from the original four events, eight champions (individual and team) in one discipline to the thirty events, 108 champions in four disciplines (rifle, pistol, running target, shotgun) that are included in the current world championships.
ISSF World Championships of Establishing the ISSF, 1907-1915
The first ISSF leaders took their commitment to bring together the shooting federations “of all nations in the world” seriously. A second task was governing and growing its International Matches into World Shooting Championships. During this first era, the Matches were organized every year. 18 annual World Championships were organized between 1897 and 1914.
Year |
Location |
Events |
1897 |
Lyon, FRA |
300m free rifle 3x40 |
1898 |
Turin, ITA |
300m free rifle 3x40 |
1899 |
Loosduinen, HOL |
300m free rifle 3x40 |
1900 |
Paris, FRA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1901 |
Lucerne, SUI |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1902 |
Rome, ITA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1903 |
Buenos Aires, ARG |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1904 |
Lyon, FRA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1905 |
Brussels, BEL |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1906 |
Milan, ITA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1907 |
Zurich, SUI |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1908 |
Vienna, AUS |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1909 |
Hamburg, GER |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1910 |
Loosduinen, HOL |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol |
1911 |
Rome, ITA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1912 |
Biarritz, FRA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1913 |
Camp Perry, USA |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1914 |
Viborg, DEN |
300m free rifle 3x40, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
ISSF World Championships of Reestablishing the ISSF, 1921-1939
The leadership of Daniel Mérillon and L’Union des Sociétés de Tir de France was crucial to the renewal of the ISSF. Daniel Mérillon was re-elected President and the French federation agreed to provide administrative support for the ISSF. The key decision was to revive the International Matches or World Shooting Championships. The next Championship was to be held in conjunction with the French National Matches in Lyon in August 1921.
Year |
Location |
Events |
1921 |
Lyon, FRA |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1922 |
Milan, ITA |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1923 |
Camp Perry, USA |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1924 |
Paris, FRA (Riems) |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle women |
1925 |
St. Gall |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1927 |
Rome, ITA |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle |
1928 |
Loosduinen, HOL |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle (test event) |
1929 |
Stockholm, SWE |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle |
1930 |
Antwerp, BEL |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle |
1931 |
Lwow, POL |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle |
1933 |
Granada, ESP |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle, 25m pistol (test) |
1935 |
Rome, ITA |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle, 25m pistol |
1937 |
Helsinki, FIN |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle, 25m pistol |
1939 |
Lucerne, SUI |
300m free rifle, 50m free pistol, 300m army rifle, 50m rifle, 25m pistol |
ISSF World Championships of Rebuilding and Expanding the ISSF, 1946-1979
The World Championship program underwent many changes during this period. New events were added while other events were deleted. Most new ISSF events represented efforts to reach out to shooters who participated in shooting events other than traditional ISSF events. Among the new events that were most significant for the ISSF’s future were skeet, which was added in 1958; air rifle, which was added in 1966, and air pistol, which entered the program in 1970. When post World War II restrictions against the ownership of firearms prevented shooting federations from reestablishing their traditional shooting programs, these same shooting traditions were reestablished by using air rifles and later, air pistols. Air guns and their development as high-precision target arms played an especially significant role in the growth of the shooting sports in many nations.
No. |
Year |
Location |
Notes |
33 |
1947 |
Stockholm, SWE |
50/100m rifle “English Match” event added. Service/center-fire 30+30 pistol event added. |
34 |
1949 |
Buenos Aires, ARG |
Army rifle position awards were deleted. 100m running deer events were added. |
35 |
1952 |
Oslo, NOR |
|
36 |
1954 |
Caracas, VEN |
|
37 |
1958 |
Moscow, URS |
Women’s 50m 3x30 and English Match 50m rifle events added. Women’s 25m small-bore pistol event added. Junior 50m rifle 3x30 and English Match events added. Men’s skeet event added. |
38 |
1962 |
Cairo, UAR |
The English Match became a 60-shot 50-meter event. Junior events were deleted. Women’s trap added. |
39 |
1966 |
Wiesbaden, FRG |
Air rifle event added. Men’s standard rifle event added. Women’s rifle events became 50-meter standard rifle, 3x20 and 60 prone events. 300m army rifle was changed to 300m standard rifle. 100m running deer was changed to 50m running boar. |
40 |
1970 |
Phoenix, USA |
Women’s air rifle event added. Women’s sport pistol and standard pistol events added. Air pistol men and women events added. |
41 |
1974 |
Thun, SUI |
Clay target events were organized in Berne, SUI Women’s standard pistol was deleted. |
42 |
1978 |
Seoul, KOR |
Men’s standard rifle event was deleted. |
ISSF World Championships of The Modern Era of the ISSF 1980 – 2014
New events were added to the ISSF World Championships program in 1982 and 1990, but the most significant change was the addition of junior men’s and junior women’s events in 1994. ISSF General Regulations recognize 15 junior men’s events and 10 junior women’s events that were added to the program.
No. |
Year |
Location |
Notes |
43 |
1982 |
Caracas, VEN |
Organized on the 1954 World Championship range. 300m rifle events were conducted for the first time on electronic targets. A 300m prone rifle event was added. |
44 |
1986 |
Suhl, GDR |
With no 300m ranges in the German Democratic Republic, 300m rifle events were organized by the Swedish shooting federation in Skövde, Sweden. |
45 |
1990 |
Moscow, URS |
Organized on the same range that hosted the 1958 World Championship and 1980 Olympic shooting. Double trap events were added. |
46 |
1994 |
Milan, ITA |
300m rifle events were organized at Tolmezzo, Italy. Clay target events were conducted at Fagnano, Italy. Junior men’s and junior women’s events were included for the first time. |
47 |
1998 |
Barcelona, ESP |
300m rifle events were conducted at Zaragoza, Spain. King Juan Carlos I presided at the Barcelona opening ceremony. |
48 |
2002 |
Lahti, FIN |
A temporary range was erected in the Lahti Sports Stadium for the 25m and 50m events. |
49 |
2006 |
Zagreb, CRO |
Existing and temporary ranges in Zagreb and the immediate area hosted all events. The President of the Republic of Croatia, Stepan Mesic, presided at the opening ceremony. |
50 |
2010 |
Munich, GER |
The 50th World Shooting Championship will be conducted on ranges that originally hosted the shooting events of the 1972 Olympic Games. |
51 |
2014 |
Granada, ESP |
The 51st World Shooting Championship in all events |
52 |
2018 |
Changwon (KOR) |
The 52nd ISSF World Championship in all events |
Separate ISSF World Championships (Running Target and Shotgun), 1933-2011
As part of the ISSF’s effort to support new shooting constituencies, it also sanctioned a series of special World Championships for some of its events. These so-called separate World Championships actually began in 1933 when the ISSF began organizing special trap championships. Cooperative efforts with the Federation Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse (FITASC) had begun in the 1930s and this relationship encouraged the ISSF to support a growing clay target community. The ISSF relationship with FITASC was renewed in 1951 and ultimately led to the ISSF assuming a lead role in governing amateur clay target events. FITASC was active in promoting live pigeon shooting and trap competitions with large cash prizes so it needed to cooperate with the ISSF to keep trap events on the Olympic and World Championship programs.
Year |
Location |
Events |
1933 |
Vienna, AUT |
1st World Trap Championship |
1934 |
Budapest, HUN |
Trap |
1935 |
Brussels, BEL |
Trap |
1936 |
Berlin, GER |
Trap |
1938 |
Luhacovice, CZE |
Trap |
1939 |
Berlin, GER |
Trap |
1950 |
Madrid, ESP |
Trap and Skeet |
1959 |
Cairo, EGY |
Trap and Skeet |
1961 |
Oslo, NOR |
Trap, Skeet and 100m Running Deer |
1965 |
Santiago, CHI |
Trap and Skeet |
1967 |
Bologna & Pistoia, ITA |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W, 50m Running Boar |
1969 |
San Sebastian, ESP |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W |
1969 |
Sandviken, SWE |
100m Running Deer |
1971 |
Bologna, ITA |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W |
1973 |
Melbourne, AUS |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W, 50m Running Boar |
1975 |
Munich, FRG |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W, 50m Running Boar |
1977 |
Antibes, FRA |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W |
1979 |
Montecatini, ITA |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W |
1979 |
Linz, AUT |
50m Running Boar |
1981 |
Tucumán & Buenos Aires (Mala), ARG |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W, 50m Running Boar |
1983 |
Edmonton, CAN |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W, 50m Running Boar, 10m Running Target |
1985 |
Montecatini, ITA |
13th World Skeet and Trap Championship |
1987 |
Valencia, VEN |
Trap M&W, Skeet M&W |
1989 |
Montecatini, ITA |
Trap M, W,MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
1991 |
Perth, AUS |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
1993 |
Barcelona, ESP |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
1995 |
Nicosia, CYP |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
1997 |
Lima, PER |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
1999 |
Tampere, FIN |
2001 |
Cairo, EGY |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2003 |
Nicosia, CYP |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2005 |
Lonato, ITA |
2007 |
Nicosia, CYP |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2009 |
Maribor, SLO |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2011 |
Belgrade, SRB |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2013 |
Lima, PER |
Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Double Trap M, W, MJ, WJ; Skeet M, W, MJ, WJ |
2015 |
Lonato (ITA) |
Trap M MJ W WJ, Double Trap M MJ, Skeet M MJ W WJ |
2017 |
Moscow (RUS) |
First Trap Mixed Team world title is delivered |
Separated ISSF Air Gun World Championships 1979-1991
The ISSF also experimented with separate World Moving Target and World Air Gun Championships as a means of promoting those two sets of events. The need for continuing separate championships in those events ended after the ISSF World Cup program became well established.
Year |
Location |
Events |
1979 |
Seoul, KOR |
1st World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men Women |
1981 |
Santo Domingo, DOM |
2nd World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol and 10m Running Target |
1983 |
Innsbruck, AUT |
3rd World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men and Women |
1985 |
Mexico City, MEX |
4th World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men and Women |
1987 |
Budapest, HUN |
5th World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men Women and Juniors; 10m Running Target Men |
1989 |
Sarajevo, YUG |
6th World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men Women and Juniors; 10m Running Target Men |
1991 |
Stavanger, NOR |
7th World Air Gun Championship Rifle, Pistol for Men and Women |
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