ISSF 50 meter pistol
The 50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called free pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It provides the purest precision shooting among the pistol events, and is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. Most of the changes concern distance, caliber, type of pistol, time allowed, and most recently, format of the finals. The target of this event has not changed since 1900, and the 50m distance has remained the standard since 1912. Competitors have been using the small-bore, rim-fire cartridge since 1908. The sport traced back to the beginning of indoor Flobert pistol parlor shooting in Europe during the 1870s, which in turn traced back to 18th century pistol dueling.
The pistol used must be chambered in caliber.22 Long Rifle ammunition, may only be loaded with one round at a time, and must have conventional "open" or "iron" sights. It must also be held and operated by one hand, and not supported by any other part of the shooter's body. Apart from that, there are practically no rules for the pistol, explaining the former name of the event. Trigger weight may be as low as the shooter pleases, the grip may be designed in any way to enhance comfortable ergonomic fit as long as it does not touch the wrist for support, and there are no restrictions on size and weight. Precision pistols with long barrels, grips fitted to the shooter's hand, very light trigger pull, etc., are often themselves called free pistols.
The course of fire is 60 shots within a maximum time of two hours. The target is the same as in 25 metre center-fire pistol, but at double the distance, resulting in a lower result level. 570 out of the maximum 600 is considered a world-class result. The current world record, 583, was achieved in the World shooting Championships Granada in 2014 by the South Korean Jin Jong-oh. The previous world record of 581 points was scored by Kyrgyzstan-born Alexander Melentyev in the 1980 Moscow games, stood for 34 years, and still remains the Olympic record.
Most shooters excelling in 50 m pistol also compete at the same level in 10 metre air pistol, a similar precision event.
The Olympic Committee officially dropped 50 m Pistol as a medal event in meetings held in 2018, making the Rio games of 2016 the last for the "Free Pistol" shooters. However, it is still part of other major ISSF competitions; most notably the World Shooting Championships.
World Championships, Men
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1900 |  Paris | |||
| 1901 |  Luzern | |||
| 1902 |  Rome | |||
| 1903 |  Buenos Aires | |||
| 1904 | Lyon | |||
| 1905 |  Bruxelles | |||
| 1906 | Milan | |||
| 1907 | Zurich | |||
| 1908 |  Vienna | |||
| 1909 |  Hamburg | |||
| 1910 |  Loosduinen | |||
| 1911 | Rome | |||
| 1912 | Bayonne Biarritz | |||
| 1913 |  Camp Perry | |||
| 1914 |  Viborg | |||
| 1921 | Lyon | |||
| 1922 | Milan | |||
| 1923 | Camp Perry | |||
| 1924 | Reims | |||
| 1925 | St. Gallen | |||
| 1927 | Rome | |||
| 1928 | Loosduinen | |||
| 1929 |  Stockholm | |||
| 1930 | Antwerp | |||
| 1931 |  Lvov | |||
| 1933 |  Granada | |||
| 1935 | Rome | |||
| 1937 |  Helsinki | |||
| 1939 | Luzern | |||
| 1947 | Stockholm | |||
| 1949 | Buenos Aires | |||
| 1952 |  Oslo | |||
| 1954 |  Caracas | |||
| 1958 |  Moscow | |||
| 1962 |  Cairo | |||
| 1966 |  Wiesbaden | |||
| 1970 | Phoenix | |||
| 1974 | Thun | |||
| 1978 |  Seoul | |||
| 1982 | Caracas | |||
| 1986 |  Suhl | |||
| 1990 | Moscow | |||
| 1994 |  Milan | |||
| 1998 | Barcelona | |||
| 2002 | Lahti | |||
| 2006 |  Zagreb | |||
| 2010 |  Munich | |||
| 2014 | Granada | |||
| 2018 | Changwon |
World Championships, Men Team
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1900 | Paris | Switzerland Friedrich Luethi Paul Probst Karl Roderer Louis Richardet Konrad Staeheli | France Louis Duffoy Maurice Marie Lecoq Achille Paroche Leon Moreaux Trinite | Netherlands Antonius Hubertus Maria Bouwens Anthony Ahasuerus Henrik Sweijs Henrik Sillem Gerardus van Haan Solko Johannes van Den Bergh |
| 1901 | Luzern | Switzerland Karl Hess Paul Probst Louis Richardet Karl Roderer Konrad Staeheli | France Louis Duffoy Maurice Faure Achille Paroche Raphael Py Trinite | Italy L. Borgogelli Cristoforo Buttafava G. Giuliozzi A. Righini R. Tagliabue |
| 1902 | Rome | Switzerland Karl Hess J. Lang Karl Roderer A. Roch Konrad Staeheli | Italy P. Castellano A. Righini G. Sandri R. Tagliabue L. Tavelli | France Caurette Louis Duffoy Leon Moreaux Raphael Py Athanase Sartori |
| 1903 | Buenos Aires | Argentina Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Angel Velaz Jorge Lubary Benjamin Segura Andres Del Pino | Italy Attilio Conti A. Pederzoli A. Righini L. Tavelli Cesare Valerio | |
| 1904 | Lyon | Switzerland Karl Hess Paul Probst Louis Richardet Karl Roderer Konrad Staeheli | Argentina Jose Fernandez Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Alberto Pero Pedro Partarrie Benjamin Segura | France Caurette Jean Fouconnier Molinie-Paget Leon Moreaux Raphael Py |
| 1905 | Bruxelles | Belgium Julien van Asbroeck Paul Van Asbroeck Rene Englebert Charles Paumier du Verger Victor Robert | Switzerland Mathias Brunner F. Jaques Karl Hess Louis Richardet Konrad Staeheli | France Andre Barbillat Andre de Castelbajac Jean Depassis Louvier Leon Moreaux |
| 1906 | Milan | Belgium Rene Englebert Charles Paumier du Verger Julien van Asbroeck Victor Robert Paul Van Asbroeck | Switzerland Louis Richardet Karl Roderer Konrad Staeheli J. Schalcher Karl Hess | France Andre Barbillat Jean Fouconnier Louvier Leon Moreaux Raphael Py |
| 1907 | Zurich | Belgium Julien van Asbroeck Paul Van Asbroeck Charles Paumier du Verger Victor Robert Reginald Storms | Switzerland Mathias Brunner Karl Hess J. Schalcher Konrad Staeheli Caspar Widmer | France Andre Barbillat Andre de Castelbajac Jean Depassis Leon Moreaux Raphael Py |
| 1908 | Vienna | Italy Cristoforo Buttafava Daniele Bonicelli Gian Galeazzo Cantoni Raffaele Frasca A. Righini | Belgium Julien van Asbroeck Paul Van Asbroeck Charles Paumier du Verger Reginald Storms Victor Robert | France Andre Barbillat Andre de Castelbajac Duvoir Leon Moreaux Andre Regaud |
| 1909 | Hamburg | Germany Gerhard Bock Richard Fischer Eduard Ehricht Eduard Schmeisser J. Vogel | Switzerland Mathias Brunner Karl Hess Karl Roderer Konrad Staeheli E. Wanner | France Andre Barbillat Maurice Faure Leon Moreaux Andre Regaud Raphael Py |
| 1910 | Loosduinen | Belgium Rene Englebert Charles Paumier du Verger Paul Van Asbroeck Norbert van Molle Wullemans | Italy Raffaele Frasca G. Mussino A. Righini Riccardo Ticchi C. Vercellone | Germany Gerhard Bock Eduard Ehricht Richard Fischer Eduard Schmeisser J. Vogel |
| 1911 | Rome | Belgium Norbert van Molle Serruys Philippe Cammaerts Paul Van Asbroeck Charles Paumier du Verger | Germany Gassmann Eduard Ehricht Richard Fischer Eduard Schmeisser J. Vogel | Switzerland Mathias Brunner J. Landry Karl Roderer Konrad Staeheli Caspar Widmer |
| 1912 | Bayonne Biarritz | Belgium Paul Van Asbroeck Philippe Cammaerts Charles Paumier du Verger Norbert van Molle Serruys | France Andre Barbillat Jean Carrere Andre de Castelbajac Paul Maujean Andre Regaud | Italy Alfredo Galli Raffaele Frasca L. Moretto G. Mussino Riccardo Ticchi |
| 1913 | Camp Perry | United States James Howard Snook John Dietz Alfred Lane C. McCutcheon P. Hanford | France Jean Carrere Girardot Léon Johnson Andre Regaud Louis Percy | Sweden Wilhelm Carlberg Otto Christiansson Sigvard Hultcrantz Loewman Casimir Reuterskioeld |
| 1914 | Viborg | Italy Alfredo Galli Raffaele Frasca L. Moretto R. Preda Riccardo Ticchi | France Andre Barbillat Jean Carrere Girardot Léon Johnson Andre Regaud | Belgium Paul Van Asbroeck Louis Andrieu Henri Sauveur Fils Victor Robert Serruys |
| 1921 | Lyon | Italy Giancarlo Boriani Raffaele Frasca Franco Micheli L. Moretto Riccardo Ticchi | Switzerland Mathias Brunner Domenico Giambonini Hans Haenni Fritz Zulauf Caspar Widmer | France Léon Johnson Paul Maujean R. Pecchia Andre Regaud Louis Tetart |
| 1922 | Milan | Switzerland Robert Blum Hans Haenni F. Koenig Wilhelm Schnyder Fritz Zulauf | Italy L. Corba Camillo Isnardi Franco Micheli L. Moretto Riccardo Ticchi | United States Irving Romaro Calkins J. Considine Karl Telford Frederick Alfred Lane Paul Raymond |
| 1923 | Camp Perry | United States Irving Romaro Calkins J. Dunn Karl Telford Frederick Charles Price R. G. Wescott | ||
| 1924 | Reims | Switzerland Mathias Brunner Robert Blum Hans Haenni F. Koenig Wilhelm Schnyder | France Andre de Castelbajac Keller-Dorian Paul Maujean Gilles Petit Veyssiere | Denmark F. Frederiksen C. Jensen Christian Lehrman Lars Jørgen Madsen Christen Moeller |
| 1925 | St. Gallen | France Charles des Jammonières Keller-Dorian R. Pecchia Gilles Petit Louis Tetart | Switzerland F. Balmer Robert Blum Hans Haenni F. Koenig Wilhelm Schnyder | Denmark F. Frederiksen C. Jensen Niels Hansen Ditlev Larsen Christian Lehrman Christen Moeller |
| 1927 | Rome | Switzerland F. Balmer Robert Blum Wilhelm Schnyder August Wiederkehr Fritz Zulauf | Denmark A. Boll Christian Lehrman P. Moeller Christen Moeller Erik Sætter-Lassen | Spain Antonio Bonilla Sanmartin Jose Bento Lopez Luis Calvet Sandoz Julio Castro Del Rosario G. Martinez |
| 1928 | Loosduinen | Switzerland Robert Blum Jakob Fisher Wilhelm Schnyder August Wiederkehr Fritz Zulauf | Spain Luis Calvet Sandoz Jose Bento Lopez Julio Castro Del Rosario G. Martinez C. Romero | France Andre de Castelbajac Charles des Jammonières Keller-Dorian R. Pecchia |
| 1929 | Stockholm | Switzerland Robert Blum Jakob Fisher Lean Revilliod de Bude Wilhelm Schnyder Fritz Zulauf | Spain Jose Bento Lopez Luis Calvet Sandoz J. Esquena G. Martinez C. Romero | France Marcel Bonin Andre de Castelbajac Charles des Jammonières P. Gremeaux G. Regis |
| 1930 | Antwerp | Switzerland Ernst Flückiger Severin Crivelli Lean Revilliod de Bude Wilhelm Schnyder Fritz Zulauf | France Marcel Bonin Charles des Jammonières Gantier P. Gremeaux G. Regis | Denmark A. Boll C. Jensen Niels Hansen Ditlev Larsen Christian Lehrman Axel Lerche |
| 1931 | Lvov | Switzerland Ernst Flückiger Severin Crivelli Lean Revilliod de Bude Wilhelm Schnyder Fritz Zulauf | France Marcel Bonin Andre de Castelbajac Charles des Jammonières P. Gremeaux Neveu | Finland A. Granholm Viktor Miinalainen Karl Gustaf Svensson S. Timonen Vilenius |
| 1933 | Granada | Switzerland E. Andres F. Bullo Ernst Flueckiger Severin Crivelli Wilhelm Schnyder | France M. Brion Marcel Bonin Charles des Jammonières Rene Koch Neveu | Spain Botllan Jose Bento Lopez J. Esquena G. Martinez C. Romero |
| 1935 | Rome | Switzerland E. Andres E. Flueckiger Severin Crivelli F. Leibundgut Walter Buechi | Italy Giancarlo Boriani B. Capone Stefano Margotti C. Maresca Ugo Pistolesi |  GermanyH. Beltzner Erich Krempel G. Lorenz Emil Martin Paul Wehner |
| 1937 | Helsinki | Switzerland Walter Buechi Ernst Flueckiger Severin Crivelli Hans Gaemperli Walter Schaffner | Finland Klaus Henrik Lahti Aatto Johannes Nuora Jaakko Rintanen Klaus Suokontu Tapio Vartiovaara | Sweden Gustaf Bergstroem Bertli Gustafsson Helge Meuller Torsten Elis Ullman Gotfrid von Rooth |
| 1939 | Luzern | Switzerland Heinz Ambuehl E. Andres Walter Buechi Ernst Flueckiger W. Muster | Sweden Gustaf Bergstroem Bertli Gustafsson Kristian Sjoeberg Torsten Elis Ullman Gotfrid von Rooth | Germany W. Kraft Erich Krempel F. Krempel Emil Martin Paul Wehner |
| 1947 | Stockholm | Argentina Oscar Bidegain Pablo Cagnasso Federico Gruben Federico Manes Alberto Martijena | Sweden Sven Lundquist Sture Nordlund G. Schoett Karl Axel Wallen Torsten Elis Ullman | Switzerland Heinz Ambuehl E. Flueckiger W. Schaffner Beat Rhyner Alexander Specker |
| 1949 | Buenos Aires | Argentina Oscar Bidegain Pablo Cagnasso Antonio Cannavo Federico Gruben Alberto Martijena | Sweden Hugo Lundqvist Sven Lundquist Sture Nordlund Goesta Pihl Torsten Elis Ullman | United States Huelet Leo Benner W. Hancock C. Logie Harry Wendell Reeves W. Toney |
| 1952 | Oslo | Sweden Aeke Lindblom Sture Nordlund Hugo Lundqvist G. Schoett Torsten Elis Ullman | Switzerland Heinz Ambuehl Heinrich Keller Beat Rhyner Rudolf Schnyder Alexander Specker | Finland Veli-Jussi Hoelsoe Klaus Henrik Lahti Leonard Ravilo Oiva Kalerva Tylli S. Widnaes |
| 1954 | Caracas | Soviet Union Vladimir Demin Anton Jasinsky Konstantin Martazov Evgeni Polikanin Lev Vainshtein | United States R. Anthony Huelet Leo Benner John Dodds Harry Wendell Reeves Offutt Pinion | Sweden Aeke Lindblom Leif Uno Larsson Hugo Lundqvist G. Preutz Torsten Elis Ullman |
| 1958 | Moscow | Soviet Union Alexei Gustchin Anton Jasinsky Makhmud Umarov Lev Vainshtein Anatoli Zapolski | United States William Blankenship Nelson Hayford Lincoln D. Miller Offutt Pinion Raymond Sutherland |  CzechoslovakiaJiri Hrnecek Vladimir Kudrna Karel Mucha Frantisek Maxa Josef Svab |
| 1962 | Cairo | Soviet Union Mihail Akulov Alexei Gustchin Grigori Kosych Vladimir Stolipin | United States William Blankenship Lloyd Burchett Franklin Green Frederik Schaser | Switzerland Ludwig Hemauer Frederic Michel Albert Spaeni Ernst Stoll |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | Soviet Union Grigori Kosych Evgeni Raskazov Vladimir Stolipin Albert Udachin | Switzerland Ludwig Hemauer Fritz Lehmann Albert Spaeni Ernst Stoll | Poland Jozef Frydel Henryk Siek Rajmund Stachurski Jozef Zapedzki |
| 1970 | Phoenix | Soviet Union Grigori Kosych Vladimir Stolipin Anatoli Egrishin Boris Yermakov | East Germany Helmut Artelet Harald Vollmar Heinz Szurlies Gert Schreiber | Poland Karol Chodkiewicz Zbigniew Fedyczak Pawel Malek Rajmund Stachurski |
| 1974 | Thun | Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Grigori Kosych Igor Raenko Georgi Zapolskich | Czechoslovakia Vladimir Hyka Hynek Hromada Ivan Nemethy Milos Stefan |  AustriaHubert Garschall Hans-Peter Schmidt Othmar Schneider Heinz Tschabrun |
| 1978 | Seoul | Switzerland Herbert Binder Roman Burkhard Moritz Minder Arno Rissi |  JapanChikafumi Hirai Mamoru Inagaki Fumihisa Semizuki Shigetoshi Tashiro | West Germany Klaus Bolbrock Alfons Messerschmidt Udo Scharf Karl-Otto Westphalen |
| 1982 | Caracas | Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Alexsander Melentiev Sergei Sumatokhin Vladas Turla | United States Erich Buljung Jimmie Mc Coy Don Nygord Eugene Ross |  ChinaZhijian Chou Zhibo Su Ming Wang Yifu Wang |
| 1986 | Suhl | Soviet Union Igor Basinski Alexsander Melentiev Sergei Pyzhianov | Sweden Benny Oestlund Pertti Paeaekkoenen Ragnar Skanåker | East Germany Gernot Eder Michael Hochmuth Uwe Potteck |
| 1990 | Moscow |  HungaryIstván Ágh Csaba Gyorik Zoltan Papanitz | Soviet Union Igor Basinski Alexsander Melentiev Sergei Pyzhianov | Sweden Bengt Kamis Benny Oestlund Ragnar Skanåker |
| 1994 | Milan |  UkraineOleksandr Bliznuchenko Volodymyr Ivanchuk Victor Makarov |  RussiaBoris Kokorev Sergei Pyzhianov Sergei Poliakov | China Jinbao Li Yifu Wang Haifeng Xu |
| 1998 | Barcelona | China Yifu Wang Dan Xu Zongliang Tan | Russia Mikhail Nestruev Boris Kokorev Vladimir Gontcharov |  BelarusIgor Basinski Siarhei Yurusau Kanstantsin Lukashyk |
| 2002 | Lahti | China Zongliang Tan Yifu Wang Dan Xu | Russia Vladimir Gontcharov Mikhail Nestruev Boris Kokorev | Ukraine Victor Makarov Oleg Dronov Ivan Rybovalov |
| 2006 | Zagreb | China Zongliang Tan Zhongzai Lin Xiao Wu | Russia Vladimir Gontcharov Vladimir Isakov Mikhail Nestruev | Italy Francesco Bruno Vigilio Fait Giuseppe Giordano |
| 2010 | Munich | South Korea Lee Dae-Myung Jin Jong-Oh Han Seung-Woo | China Zhang Tian Jing Wu Wei Pang | Spain Pablo Carrera Miguel Salvador Gimenez Pablo Garcia |
| 2014 | Granada | China Zhiwei Wang Wei Pang Qifeng Pu | South Korea Lee Dae-Myung Jin Jong-Oh Choi Young-rae |  North KoreaKim Jong-su Kim Song-guk Kwon Tong-hyok |
| 2018 | Changwon | TBD | TBD | TBD |
World Championships, total medals
World Cup Final
ISSF has introduced a series of World Cup competitions for Olympic shooting events in 1986, and the final has been held at the end of each season since 1988.| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1988 | Munich | |||
| 1989 | Munich | |||
| 1990 | Munich | |||
| 1991 | Munich | |||
| 1992 | Munich | |||
| 1993 | Munich | |||
| 1994 | Munich | |||
| 1995 | Munich | |||
| 1996 | Naefels | |||
| 1997 | Lugano | |||
| 1998 | Zurich | |||
| 1999 | Munich | |||
| 2000 | Munich | |||
| 2001 | Munich | |||
| 2002 | Munich | |||
| 2003 | Milan | |||
| 2004 |  Bangkok | |||
| 2005 | Munich | |||
| 2006 | Granada | |||
| 2007 | Bangkok | |||
| 2008 | Bangkok | |||
| 2009 | Wuxi | |||
| 2010 | Munich | |||
| 2011 | Wroclaw | |||
| 2012 | Bangkok | |||
| 2013 | Munich | |||
| 2014 |  Gabala | |||
| 2015 | Munich |
Current world records
Olympic and World Champions
is the only triple Olympic champion in 50 metre pistol; he is the only shooter to have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in one event. World Championships were held annually up to the 1931 then biennially until 1954, which made a few long streaks possible, but after World War II few shooters have been able to win two major World-level titles ; Jin is the only one to have won three or more since the World Championships intervals were changed to the current quadrennial format. Paul Van Asbroeck has won the most number of Olympic and World titles combined with seven titles. Torsten Ullman won six over the span of 1933-1952, including four successive Championships between 1933 and 1937. Wilhem Schnyder won four consecutive World Championships between 1924 and 1928. Van Asbroeck, Ullman, Huelet Benner and Jin are only ones to have held the Olympic and the World titles simultaneously.Another rare double is that between this precision event and its direct opposite 25 metre rapid fire pistol; this has only been accomplished by Alfred Lane, Torsten Ullman, Huelet Benner and Pentti Linnosvuo, with Lane and Linnosvuo using only Olympic titles. Benner, on the other hand, is the only shooter with two titles in both events. Several athletes have won 50 metre pistol and 10 metre air pistol titles; Jin is the ony person to have done so at the Olympics.
ISSF World Cup Series has been held since 1986 with the World Cup Final at the end of the season since 1988; Ragnar Skanåker and Jin are the only two to have won this competition as well as the Olympic and World titles. Skanåker's 1993 World Cup Final victory was achieved at the age of 59; it was also his last international victory.
The distance of the Free Pistol event was 30 metre initially. This was because 30 metre was used in the German Championship, the most important competition at the time. Starting from the 1900 Olympics, which also served as the first world championship for Free Pistol, the distance was set at 50 metre. Both the distance and the target remained the same to this day, with the exception of the 1908 Olympics in which the distance changed from 50 metre to 50 yards.
Free Pistol was not held between the 1920 and 1936 Olympics. This is due to the perception of the time that pistol shooters, especially in free pistol, were professionals who competed in tournaments which awarded prized money. The strict amateur status required by the IOC ran counter against UIT and the money and medal awarding system of the target pistol shooting competition tradition. The best shooters in the world such as Wilhelm Schnyder and his Swiss teammates with their Häuptli pistols would dominate the world championships, but were denied the chance to compete in the Olympics. With the exception of 1923 when they did not compete, from 1921 to 1939 the Swiss either won the individual or the team World titles, or both. Hitler made sure shooting was part of the 1936 program as he was eager to demonstrate his country's military might, including a brand new special designed Walther pistol for the rapid fire event.
1 The Olympic competitions in Paris also counted as the 1900 World Championships.
2 Same model as MP33. Name changed by new company owner.