In early June the ISSF World Championships Running Target will be held in Vasteras and Stockholm, Sweden. The world's best running target shooters will arrive to Sweden to compete about the precious medals in four events, regular and mixed course in 50 and 10 meters. Six shooters, four seniors and two juniors, will compete for Sweden.
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Skapad: 03 MAJ 2012 17:58
(Photo above: Swedish shooters in the Olympic Games 1912. The man with the white beard is Oscar Swahn.)
Sweden has a great history of running target shooting. Already in the middle of the 19th century deer shooting competitions at 100m was starting to take place in Sweden. Around the turn of the 19th-20th century the competitions grew more and more common, both in Sweden and internationally.
In the year 1900 the shooting form became part of the Olympic Games in Paris, but 1956 it was removed from the Olympic program. Running Target was back on the Olympic schedule between 1972-2004. It was then the events RT regular and mixed, 50 and 10 meters, which are the international running targets event of today.
Swedish Running Target history
1908 Oscar Gomer Swahn wins Olympic gold in London in deer shooting single shots, and bronze in deer shooting double shot. Sweden also won the team competition in the single shot competition.
1912 The Olympic Games take place in Stockholm and the Swedish running target shooters wins a lot of medals. Alfred Swahn wins gold in deer shooting single shot. Åke Lundeberg wins deer shooting double shots, with fellow countrymen Edward Benedicks as a silver medalist and Oscar Swahn in bronze position. Sweden also won team gold in deer shooting. In total, in all 18 shooting disciplines, Sweden won seven gold, six silver and four bronze medals.
1920 In the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp Alfred Swahn is silver medallist in the single shot deer shooting and team silver in the double shot deer. Fredric Landelius finishes second in the double shot both individually and in teams.
1924 The Swedish team takes silver in deer single shot and bronze in the double shot at the Olympics in Paris.
1929 Stockholm hosts the Shooting World Championship. In the deer shooting double shot Sweden’s Otto F. Hultberg win the gold medal.
1937 Olof Sköldberg wins the deer shooting double shot at the World Championships in Helsinki.
1947 The Shooting World Championship take place in Stockholm once again and deer shooting single shot is won by Olof Sköldberg.
1952 Olof Sköldberg wins silver at the Olympics Games in Helsinki, in both single and double shot in deer shooting.
1956 Olof Sköldberg repeat his performance from four years earlier when he becomes silver medalist in the deer shooting event, both single and double shot, at the Olympic Games in Melbourne.
1958 At the World Championships in Moscow the silver in deer shooting double shot, goes to Rune Flodmann.
1959 Rune Flodman wins the 50 meter running target at the European Championship.
1962 The 100m deer shooting event is on the World Championship program for the last time, in Cairo. Rune Flodman finished third in single shot.
1963 Rune Flodman wins a new European Championship gold in the 50m running target.
1966 First World Championships in 50 meter running target take place in Wiesbaden, Germany.
1967 Martin Nordfors wins the 50m running target at the World Championship, with Stig Johansson in third place.
1969 The World Championship in Running Target is held in Sandviken, Sweden, and once again Martin Nordfors is the winner.
1970 Gote Gaard wins two individual gold medals at World Championship Running Target 50m in Phoenix. Martin Nordfors ends up in third place in the regular event.
1971 Gote Gaard wins the European Championship in RT 50m, before Karl Karlsson on second place.
1972 50 meter running target becomes part of the Olympic program. Gote Gaard and Karl-Axel Karlsson represent Sweden and finishes in place sixth and eight.
1988 Running Target 50 meters is on the Olympic program for the last time at the Olympics in Soul. Sweden is represented by Jan Pettersson who finishes in ninth place.
1992 Running Target 10 meters becomes an Olympic discipline.
2004 In the spring, a world cup competition take place in Sydney, Australia. Emil Andersson wins and Niklas Bergstrom ends up in second place.
Later this year it is time for the Olympics in Athens where the running target 10 meters-event is on the Olympic program for the last time. Emil Andersson is close to a medal, but finishes in fourth place.
2006 The European Championship takes place in Moscow. At 10m mixed events Niklas Bergstrom wins, Emil Andersson finished third and Sami Pesonen fifth. The Swedish team wins team gold, with a new world record, one point over the Russians previous record.
2008 In Plzen, Emil Andersson wins his first World Championship gold, in Running target 10m. In the mixed event he finishes third.
2009 This year Emil Andersson gets married and changes his last name to Martinsson. He wins the World Championship in the 10m regular event for the second time.
2010 Emil Martinsson wins his third World Championship gold medal, this time in the 50m regular event. At 50m mixed event, he takes the silver.
2011 Sweden’s team with Emil Martinsson, Niklas Bergström and Mattias Bergström wins the European Championship in the 10m mixed event. Emil and Niklas, in team with Rickard Johansson, also won the 50m mixed event at the European Championship in Belgrade in August.
The list above contain a selection of memorable Swedish Running Target performances.
List of sources:
Stora Skytteboken band 3, editor: Josef Almqvist, Bokförlaget Gothia AB 1963
www.sok.se
www.issf-sports.com
www.wikipedia.com