Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity whose participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles.
The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic status. They are divided into four disciplines: rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target.
Finland competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Finnish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games since its debut in 1908. The Finnish Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest ever team to the Games after the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A total of 53 athletes, 36 men and 17 women, competed only in 12 sports; the nation's team size was roughly denser from Sydney by a quarter of the athletes.
Trap shooting is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays.
The men's 10 metre running target competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on 18 and 19 August at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece. Along with the women's double trap, this was the last Olympic competition in the event, before being removed from the program shortly after the Games.
The men's double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 17 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
The men's 50 metre rifle three positions competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on 22 August at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
The women's double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 18 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece. This was the last Olympic competition in the event, before being removed from the program shortly after the Games.
The women's skeet shooting competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 19 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
The men's 10 metre air rifle competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on 16 August at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
The women's trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 16 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece. Suzanne Balogh of Australia won the competition by a wide four-hit margin.
The men's trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 14 and 15 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece. There were 35 competitors from 26 nations, with each nation having up to two shooters.
Shooting competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 9 to August 17, at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall and Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field. Of the fifteen events, the host country won five.
Andrea Benelli is a retired Italian skeet shooter. He competed at the 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, and won a gold medal in 2004 and a bronze in 1996. In 2004, he and Marko Kemppainen finished with 149 hits out of 150, but Kemppainen missed first in the shoot-off. Benelli also won the individual world title in 1987 and 1990, placing second in 1986, and third in 1999. In 1996 he set two world records at 125/125 and 150/150.
The Men's skeet event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 15 and 16 at the Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field.
The men's trap event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 9 and 10 at the Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field. There were 35 competitors from 25 nations, with each nation having up to two shooters. The Czech Republic won its second shooting gold in two days through David Kostelecký, shooting a perfect 25 in the final round and establishing an Olympic record of 146 hits total after a 2005 rule change. It was the Czech Republic's first medal in the men's trap. Giovanni Pellielo of Italy repeated as the silver medalist; in addition to his 2000 bronze, this made Pellielo the first man to earn at least three medals in the event; he would go on to win a fourth in 2016. Defending Olympic champion Aleksei Alipov of Russia took bronze this year, making him the fifth man to earn two medals in the trap.
The Women's skeet event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 14 at the Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field.
The men's trap event at the 2012 Olympic Games took place on 5 and 6 August 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks. There were 34 competitors from 27 nations. The event was won by Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia, the nation's first medal in the men's trap. Massimo Fabbrizi of Italy took silver, the third consecutive silver and fourth Games on the podium for Italy. Kuwait, like Croatia, earned its first medal in the men's trap; Fehaid Al-Deehani took bronze.
Georgios Achilleos is a Cypriot sports shooter and past World titlist and World No. 1 in Skeet.
Hendrikus "Hennie" Dompeling was a Dutch sport shooter. He was born in Haarlemmermeer. He has competed for the Netherlands in skeet shooting at five Olympics, and has been close to an Olympic medal in 2000. Outside the Olympic career, Dompeling has produced a phenomenal record of twenty-one medals in a major international competition: two bronze at the World Championships, a total of four at the ISSF World Cup final, a total of nine at numerous ISSF World Cup meets, and a total of six under both junior and senior category at the European Championships.
