ThE ShOOTERS OF ThE YEAR 2012

parTicipanTS
Throughout these 25 years, the ISSF World
Cup Final achieved great success in terms of
participation. 1183 AThLETES took part in
the competition, in Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun and
Running Target (now discontinued) events.
Female participation was always a highlight,
and more than 400 SPORTSWOMEN have
shot at the ISSF Finals since 1988.
1.1 number of parTicipanTS
bY diScipline
DisCipliNe meN WOmeN tOtal
sHOtgUN 279 153 432
RiFle 194 166 360
pistOl 201 134 335
RUNNiNg taRget 56 56
730 453 1183
In regards to the number of participants, China
always stands on top, and this isn’t the exception.
The ChINESE TEAM brought 130
AThLETES to the World Cup Final shooting
lines (50% men, 50% women), and an impressive
total of 422 ENTRIES reveals that Chinese
shooters were eligible to participate in
several different competitions. The USA follows
in second place, with 109 AThLETES
qualified to participate in the ISSF World Cup
Final since 1988: enough to surpass Italy,
with 82 participants mostly qualified in Shotgun
finals.
Among all the participants, it’s possible to
recognize some “royalty”: some of the best
shooters of the world, who stand out for their
multiple participations in the ISSF World Cup
Final. “It’s hard to make it once, can you
imagine to be qualified 35 times?” a Rifle
coach said, referring to Slovenian champion
RAJMOND DEBEVEC. The Rifle shooter possesses
a record for entries in ISSF World Cup
Final competitions. The Olympic multi-medalist
made it 35 different times, competing in
10m Air Rifle, 50m Rifle 3 Positions and 50m
Rifle Prone men events. There, Debevec won
12 medals (the last at the 2012 ISSF World
Cup in Bangkok, a few months ago).
But he’s alone now in the pantheon as the
most successful shooter of the world. Olympic
Pistol Champion NINO SALUKVADzE from
Georgia achieved 28 entries, winning 15 medals,
as well as Germany’s SONJA PFELIS-
ChIFTER (28 entries, 15 medals), and Bulgaria’s
Olympic Champ MARIA GROzDEVA (28
entries, 7 medals).
ReCORD OF 35 eNtRies: RaJmOND DebeVeC
1.2
WORLD CUP FINAL 25 Th ANNIVERSARY
number of parTicipanTS / bY naTion / Top 25
Rk NOC yeaRs participants entries
total men Women total men Women
1 chn 1988-2012 137 70 67 422 204 218
2 uSa 1988-2012 109 67 42 314 203 111
3 iTa 1988-2012 82 51 31 293 206 87
4 ger 1991-2012 76 47 29 262 150 112
5 ruS 1991-2012 69 42 27 384 249 135
6 Kor 1988-2012 57 22 35 90 39 51
7 fra 1988-2012 37 25 12 109 78 31
7 urS 1988-1991 37 28 9 83 55 28
9 hun 1988-2012 32 21 11 94 65 29
10 auS 1989-2012 31 14 17 91 50 41
11 cze 1993-2012 30 22 8 102 81 21
12 uKr 1994-2012 28 21 7 98 70 28
13 fin 1988-2012 27 17 10 76 46 30
14 eSp 1988-2012 26 18 8 59 35 24
15 gbr 1989-2012 25 16 9 39 22 17
16 pol 1988-2012 24 15 9 71 33 38
17 blr 1993-2011 21 12 9 88 59 29
17 Sui 1988-2012 21 16 5 42 30 12
19 ind 2000-2012 20 10 10 43 27 16
20 den 1988-2012 19 16 3 37 30 7
20 frg 1988-1990 19 14 5 33 17 16
20 Swe 1988-2012 19 13 6 45 33 12
23 nor 1988-2012 18 14 4 69 63 6
23 SvK 1993-2012 18 11 7 67 40 27
25 bul 1988-2012 16 8 8 116 43 73
25 Jpn 1988-2012 16 6 10 36 13 23
ISSF NEWS 1 2013 15