A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.
Venezuela competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, and in the equestrian events held in Stockholm, Sweden. Twenty-two competitors, all men, were selected by the Venezuelan Olympic Committee to take part in sixteen events across five sports. The delegation featured no female competitors, for the second time, and won no medals. While most of the Venezuelan athletes did not advance past the qualifying rounds of their sports, there were some good placings in the shooting, with Germán Briceño and Carlos Monteverde finishing in the top 10 of their events.
Norway competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. 194 competitors, 188 men and 6 women, took part in 72 events in 16 sports.
Finland competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time as a fully independent state. It did compete at the previous Olympics, however, only as the Russian-dependent Grand Duchy of Finland. 63 competitors, 62 men and 1 woman, took part in 51 events in 9 sports.
The men's 50 metre team pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event, which had also been held in 1900 and 1908. The competition was held on Tuesday, 2 July 1912. Twenty sport shooters from five nations competed. The event was won by the United States, successfully defending its Olympic title. The American team included John Dietz, a veteran of the 1908 Games, making him the first to win multiple medals in the event. Silver went to Sweden. Great Britain repeated as bronze medalists.
The men's 100 meter team running deer, single shots was a shooting sports event held as part of the shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1908. The competition was held on Thursday, 4 July 1912.
The men's ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 28 June 1924 at the shooting ranges at Versailles. 55 shooters from 17 nations competed. Nations were limited to four shooters each. Henry Bailey won the United States' second consecutive championship in the event. Sweden also earned the same medal as in 1912, with Vilhelm Carlberg's silver. Lennart Hannelius took bronze in Finland's debut in the event.
The men's 100 meter team running deer, single shots was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 2 July 1924 at the shooting ranges at Versailles. 25 shooters from 7 nations competed.
The men's 100 meter team running deer, double shots was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event. The competition was held on 3 July 1924 at the shooting ranges at Versailles. 25 shooters from 7 nations competed.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting programs at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the 300 metre rifle three positions event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 31 July 1920, with 70 shooters from 14 nations competing. The event was won by Morris Fisher of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event. Niels Larsen of Denmark earned silver, while Østen Østensen of Norway took bronze.
The men's 300 metre team free rifle was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth and final appearance of the event. The competition was held on 31 July 1920. 70 shooters from 14 nations competed. The event was won by the United States, in its first appearance in the men's team free rifle. Norway finished with four podium appearances in the four appearances of the event, taking silver in 1920. Switzerland earned bronze, its first medal in the event since gold in 1900.
The men's 30 metre rapid fire pistol, labeled the "revolver" in the Official Report and often described as a "military pistol" event was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. The International Shooting Sport Federation identified this event as the fourth appearance of an individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event; it was the second time the distance was 30 metres. In 1896 the distance was 25 metres; in 1900, 20 metres. The competition was held on 3 August 1920. 11 shooters from 3 nations competed. The event was won by Guilherme Paraense in Brazil's debut in the event; it was Brazil's first Olympic gold in any event. American Raymond Bracken took silver, while Swiss shooter Fritz Zulauf earned his nation's first medal in the event.
The men's individual competition with revolver and pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of such an event at different distances. The competition was held on 2 August 1920. 31 shooters from 8 nations competed. The event was won by Karl Frederick of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and third overall victory in the event. Defending champion Alfred Lane took bronze, the first man to win multiple medals in the event. Brazil's Afrânio da Costa finished between the two Americans, taking silver.
The men's 50 metre team pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth and last appearance of the event. The competition was held on 2 August 1920. 65 shooters from 13 nations competed. The event was won by the United States, the nation's third consecutive victory in the event. Alfred Lane returned from the 1912 team, making him the second person to earn multiple medals, and multiple gold medals, in the men's team pistol. Sweden also repeated as silver medalists. Bronze went to Brazil, in that nation's debut in the event.
The 100 meter running deer, single shots was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance for the event. The competition was held on 27 July 1920. 12 shooters from 4 nations competed.
The men's 100 meter team running deer, double shots was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the first appearance for the event. In 1908 and 1912 running deer team event were only held for single shots. The competition was held on 27 July 1920. 20 shooters from four nations competed.
The men's trap was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 23 and 24 July 1920 and 18 shooters from seven nations competed. The United States swept the podium ; it was the second sweep in the men's trap. Mark Arie took the gold medal, the second consecutive victory by an American. Frank Troeh earned silver, while Frank Wright finished with bronze. Arie also received Lord Westbury's Cup, a challenge prize previously awarded in 1908 and 1912 to the winners of those years' men's trap competitions.
Alfred (Alf) Gomer Swahn was a Swedish sport shooter who competed at the 1908, 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. He won nine medals: three gold, three silver and three bronze. He is the son of Oscar Swahn, an Olympic shooter who competed alongside his son at the 1908, 1912 and 1920 Olympics and won six medals.
100 meter running deer is a discontinued ISSF shooting event, that was part of the Olympic program from 1908 to 1924, in 1952 and 1956, and of the ISSF World Shooting Championships program from 1929 to 1962, when it was replaced by 50 meter running target. Being the original running target event, it was shot with centerfire rifles from a distance of 100 meters, with the target moving sideways across a 20-meter-wide opening. There were two versions: single shot and double shot. Occasionally combined competitions, with half the course fired single-shot and half double-shot, were held instead of or in addition to the others. The Nordic Shooting Region continued to hold championships in the discipline until 2004. The British Sporting Rifle Club continues to operate a 100 meter running deer range at the National Shooting Centre, Bisley.
The men's ISSF 50 meter pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eleventh appearance of the event. The competition was held on 18 October 1964 at the shooting ranges in Tokyo. 52 shooters from 34 nations competed. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Väinö Markkanen of Finland, the nation's second victory in the event. American Franklin Green took silver, returning the United States to the podium in the event after a one-Games absence. Yoshihisa Yoshikawa of Japan repeated as bronze medalist, the fourth man to earn multiple medals in the free pistol.
