ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol
# ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol

25 meter rapid fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is shot with .22 LR pistols. The event has been a part of the Olympic program ever since the beginning in 1896, although its rules changed greatly before World War II, after which they were only slightly changed until the two major revisions of 1989 and 2005. The latter restricted the event to sport pistols, thereby banning .22 Short cartridge (last used in 2004 and replaced by .22 Long Rifle in 2005) as well as encircling grips and low trigger-pull weight. This caused a decline in results, as evidenced by a comparison of the world records under the pre-2005 rules (597) and post-2005 rules (593).

Instead of dropping specialized rapid fire pistols, manufacturers designed new pistols, such as the Walther SSP, conforming to the standard pistol requirements, but optimized for the rapid fire event.

## Course of fire

Traditionally, RFP competitions use paper targets that are able to turn 90 degrees to appear to the shooter and then turn back to disappear when the shooting time is up. During the last few decades, these targets have gradually been replaced by electronic devices which use red and green lights to indicate the beginning and the end of the shooting time, and which automatically handle late shots. As these systems are expensive, they are normally only used in international competitions.

A series (or string) consists of five shots fired at one target each within a limited time. The targets stand next to each other at a 25 m distance from the shooter. As with all ISSF pistol disciplines, all firing must be done with one unsupported hand. When the targets appear or when the green light comes on, the competitor must raise his arm from a 45 degree angle starting position and fire his five shots. If a shot is too late, it will score as a miss.

There are three different time limits for the series: 8 seconds, 6 seconds, and 4 seconds. A stage consists of two series of each type, and a full course of fire comprises two such stages, or a total of 60 shots. Since the targets are divided into concentric score zones with 10 being the most central part, the total maximum score is 600.

In major competitions, the top six shooters qualify for a final round of four additional 4-second series, with a shot scoring at or above 9.7 being counted as a hit, or a miss otherwise. The results of the qualification round and the final are added together, and any ties are broken by firing an additional 4-second series.

## World Championships, Men

| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1933 | Granada | Andre Charles Des Jamonnieres J. (FRA) | Cristobal Tauler Alos (ESP) | Luis Calvet Sandoz (ESP) |
| 1935 | Rome | Walter Boninsegni (ITA) | František Pokorný (TCH) | Arturo Gonzalez Costello (ESP) |
| 1937 | Helsinki | Kārlis Kļava (LAT) | Pranas Giedrimas (LTU) | Erik Ljungqvist (FIN) |
| 1939 | Luzern | Torsten Ullman (SWE) | Cornelius van Oyen (GER) | Jonas Miliauskas (LTU) |
| 1947 | Stockholm | Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente (ARG) | Constantin Mylonas (GRE) | Sven Lundquist (SWE) |
| 1949 | Buenos Aires | Huelet Benner (USA) | Harry Wendell Reeves (USA) | Leonard Ravilo (FIN) |
| 1952 | Oslo | Huelet Benner (USA) | Penait Calcai (ROM) | Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente (ARG) |
| 1954 | Caracas | Nikolai Kalinichenko (URS) | William McMillan (USA) | Pentti Linnosvuo (FIN) |
| 1958 | Moscow | Aleksandr Kropotin (URS) | Alexander Zabelin (URS) | Ștefan Petrescu (ROM) |
| 1962 | Cairo | Alexander Zabelin (URS) | Igor Bakalov (URS) | James Henderson McNally (USA) |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | Virgil Atanasiu (ROM) | Józef Zapędzki (POL) | Renart Suleimanov (URS) |
| 1970 | Phoenix | Giovanni Liverzani (ITA) | Ladislav Falta (TCH) | Weselin Petkov (BUL) |
| 1974 | Thun | Alfred Radke (FRG) | Heinz Weissenberger (FRG) | Viktor Torshin (URS) |
| 1978 | Seoul | Ove Gunnarsson (SWE) | Werner Beier (FRG) | Gerhard Petritsch (AUT) |
| 1982 | Caracas | Igor Puzirev (URS) | Ove Gunnarsson (SWE) | Alfred Radke (FRG) |
| 1986 | Suhl | Adam Kaczmarek (POL) | Andrzej Macur (POL) | Ralf Schumann (GDR) |
| 1990 | Moscow | Ralf Schumann (GDR) | Miroslav Ignatiuk (URS) | Petri Eteläniemi (FIN) |
| 1994 | Milan | Krzysztof Kucharczyk (POL) | Emil Milev (BUL) | Ralf Schumann (GER) |
| 1998 | Barcelona | Ralf Schumann (GER) | Daniel Leonhard (GER) | Iulian Raicea (ROM) |
| 2002 | Lahti | Marco Spangenberg (GER) | Ralf Schumann (GER) | Niki Marty (SUI) |
| 2006 | Zagreb | Zhang Penghui (CHN) | Liu Zhongsheng (CHN) | Sergei Alifirenko (RUS) |
| 2010 | Munich | Alexei Klimov (RUS) | Zhang Jian (CHN) | Li Yuehong (CHN) |
| 2014 | Granada | Kim Jun-hong (KOR) | Oliver Geis (GER) | Li Yuehong (CHN) |
| 2018 | Changwon | Lin Junmin (CHN) | Zhang Jian (CHN) | Jean Quiquampoix (FRA) |
| 2022 | New Administrative Capital | Lee Gun-hyeok (KOR) | Clément Bessaguet (FRA) | Ghulam Mustafa Bashir (PAK) |

## World Championships, Men's Team

| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1937 | Helsinki | Finland Vilho Elo Erik Ljungqvist Arvo Odenvall Jaakko Rintanen Sulo Cederström | Lithuania Pranas Giedrimas Kazys Sruoga Antanas Jelenskas Antanas Karčiauskas Antanas Mamžeika | Germany Fritz Bucherer Hans Funck Walter Hartwig Paul Jasper Cornelius van Oyen |
| 1939 | Luzern | Hungary Laszlo Badinszky Lajos Borzsonyi Dr. Ede Domby Károly Takács Laszlo Vadnay | Lithuania Pranas Giedrimas Vladas Nakutis Antanas Mamžeika Jonas Miliauskas Antanas Jelenskas | Germany Fritz Bucherer Ludwig Leupold Walter L. Cornelius van Oyen Zindel M. |
| 1947 | Stockholm | Italy Ferdinando Bernini Bertoni G. Linari F. Mazzavillani B. | Finland Väinö Heusala Matti Kallio Mauri Kuokka Leonard Ravilo | Greece Evangelos Chryssafis Angelos Papadimas Constantin Mylonas Georges Vichos |
| 1949 | Buenos Aires | Argentina Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente Dionisio Fernández Oscar Rosendo Cervo Enrique Furtado | Finland Väinö Heusala Matti Kallio Leonard Ravilo Eino Saarnikko | United States Huelet Benner Hancock W. Logie C. Harry Wendell Reeves |
| 1952 | Oslo | United States Huelet Benner Walter Devine William McMillan Harry Wendell Reeves | Finland Väinö Heusala Veli-Jussi Hölsö Leonard Ravilo Lauri Toikka | Argentina Cabral G. Oscar Rosendo Cervo Schack E. Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente |
| 1954 | Caracas | Soviet Union Evgeni Cherkassov Nikolai Kalinichenko Victor Nasonov Oleg Zhgutov | United States Huelet Benner William McMillan Thomas Mitchell Philip Clay Roettinger | Finland Väinö Heusala Pentti Linnosvuo Leonard Ravilo Lauri Toikka |
| 1958 | Moscow | Soviet Union Evgeni Cherkassov Aleksandr Kropotin Victor Nasonov Alexander Zabelin | United States Huelet Benner William McMillan Miller D. Aubrey Smith | Hungary Aladár Dobsa József Gyönyörű Ferenc Kun Károly Takács |
| 1962 | Cairo | Soviet Union Efim Haydurov Igor Bakalov Renart Suleimanov Alexander Zabelin | United States James Henderson McNally William McMillan Aubrey Smith Cecil Wallis | Italy Ugo Amicosante Giovanni Liverzani Roberto Mazzoni Sergio Varetto |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | Soviet Union Igor Bakalov Stanislav Frantsevski Renart Suleimanov Alexander Zabelin | Romania Virgil Atanasiu Mihai Dumitriu Marcel Roşca Ion Tripşa | East Germany Gerhard Feller Gerhard Dommrich Christian Duering Lothar Pinnig |
| 1970 | Phoenix | Czechoslovakia Ladislav Falta Vladimír Hurt Rudolf Kolinek Lubomír Nácovský | Romania Virgil Atanasiu Dan Iuga Marcel Roșca Ion Tripșa | Italy Ugo Amicosante Roberto Ferraris Giovanni Liverzani Silvano Mignardi |
| 1974 | Thun | Soviet Union Yuri Alekhin Afanasijs Kuzmins Victor Torshin Mikhail Ziubko | Czechoslovakia Vladimír Hurt Vladimír Hyka Jan Kotora Lubomír Nácovský | Romania Virgil Atanasiu Corneliu Ion Marin Stan Marcel Roșca |
| 1978 | Seoul | West Germany Werner Beier Alfred Radke Helmut Seeger Heinz Weissenberger | Italy Rolando Comazzetto Roberto Ferraris Gianfranco Mantelli Alberto Sevieri | Sweden Curt Andersson Ove Gunnarsson Boo Levin Ragnar Skanåker |
| 1982 | Caracas | Soviet Union Afanasijs Kuzmins Igor Puzirev Sergei Rysev Vladimir Vokhmianin | Romania Gratian Calota Corneliu Ion Suliu V. Marin Stan | Hungary László Orbán Laszlo Nemeth Gábor Plank Istvan Szalai |
| 1986 | Suhl | Soviet Union Afanasijs Kuzmins Oleg Tkachyov Vladimir Vokhmianin | Hungary Csaba Hell Zoltan Kovacs László Orbán | East Germany Roger Herzig Peter Schumann Juergen Wiefel |
| 1990 | Moscow | Soviet Union Miroslav Ignatiuk Afanasijs Kuzmins Victor Torshin | Hungary László Balogh Zoltan Kovacs Lajos Pálinkás | Switzerland Otto Keller Anton Kuechler Hansrudolf Schneider |
| 1994 | Milan | Poland Adam Kaczmarek Andrzej Macur Krzysztof Kucharczyk | Meng Gang Wang Runxi Zhang Ruimin | Hungary István Jambrik Sándor Kacskó Lajos Pálinkás |
| 1998 | Barcelona | Ralf Schumann Daniel Leonhard Lars Uehlin | Ji Haiping Zhang Penghui Meng Gang | Shoichi Uenosono Tomohiro Kida Shuji Tazawa |
| 2002 | Lahti | Ralf Schumann Marco Spangenberg Klaus-Dieter Schmidt | Ji Haiping Liu Guohui Zhang Penghui | Ukraine Oleg Tkachyov Roman Bondaruk Taras Magmet |
| 2006 | Zagreb | Zhang Penghui Liu Zhongsheng Liu Guohui | Russia Sergei Alifirenko Sergei Poliakov Alexei Klimov | Italy Marco Liberato Riccardo Mazzetti Nicola Nello Pizzi |
| 2010 | Munich | Zhang Jian Li Yuehong Ding Feng | Russia Alexei Klimov Leonid Ekimov Dmitry Brayko | United States Brad Balsley Keith Sanderson Emil Milev |
| 2014 | Granada | Oliver Geis Christian Reitz Aaron Sauter | Czech Republic Tomas Tehan Martin Podhráský Martin Strnad | Russia Leonid Ekimov Alexei Klimov Alexander Alifirenko |
| 2018 | Changwon | Lin Junmin Zhang Jian Yao Zhaonan | Oliver Geis Christian Reitz Christian Freckmann | South Korea Kim Jun-hong Song Jong-ho Park Jun-woo |
| 2022 | New Administrative Capital | China Li Yuehong Lu Zhiming Zhang Jueming | Ukraine Maksym Horodynets Pavlo Korostylov Denys Kushnirov | Korea Kim Seo-jun Lee Jae-kyoon Lee Gun-hyeok |

## World Championships, Women

| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1962 | Cairo | Sofia Tiagni (URS) | Nadezhda Yulina (URS) | Gertrude Schernitzauer (USA) |

## World Championships, Mixed

| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2022 | New Administrative Capital | Ukraine Yulia Korostylova Maksym Horodynets | India Simranpreet Kaur Brar Anish Bhanwala | Korea Kim Jang-mi Kim Seo-jun |

## World Championships, total medals

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 13 | 4 | 3 | 20 |
| 2 | China | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| 3 | Germany | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | United States | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | Poland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | West Germany | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Sweden | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | Argentina | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | Romania | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 11 | Finland | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 12 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Hungary | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 14 | Russia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | East Germany | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | France | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | South Korea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Latvia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Lithuania | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Spain | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 21 | Greece | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (27 entries) | Totals (27 entries) | 48 | 46 | 47 | 141 |

## Current world records

Current world records in 25 metre rapid fire pistol :

| Men | Qualification | 593 | Christian Reitz (GER) Kim Jun-hong (KOR) | July 30, 2013 July 6, 2014 | Osijek (CRO) Beijing (CHN) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Men | Final | 38 | Kim Jun-hong (KOR) | April 25, 2018 | Changwon (KOR) |
| Men | Teams | 1756 | China (Zhang, Lin, Yao) | September 10, 2018 | Changwon (KOR) |
| Junior Men | Individual | 589 | Jean Quiquampoix (FRA) Zhu Haojie (CHN) Peter Florian (GER) | July 26, 2015 September 10, 2018 September 15, 2019 | Maribor (SLO) Changwon (KOR) Bologna (ITA) |
| Junior Men | Final | 35 | Zhu Haojie (CHN) | September 10, 2018 | Changwon (KOR) |
| Junior Men | Teams | 1747 | China (Zhu, Cheng, Pan) | September 10, 2018 | Changwon (KOR) |

## Olympic and World Champions

The dominant shooter of the event has been Ralf Schumann of Germany with a total of five major World-level Championship titles, with three Olympic gold medals and two Individual World titles. He is the first and one of the only two shooters to have won a particular Olympic event three times, and is the first of three shooters to have won three individual Olympic titles. Károly Takács and Józef Zapędzki also won two consecutive Olympic titles. Huelet Benner won two consecutive World Championships.

A rare double is that between this rapid fire event and its direct opposite 50 metre pistol; this has only been accomplished by Alfred Lane (completed in 1912), Torsten Ullman (1939), Huelet Benner (1952) and Pentti Linnosvuo (1964), with Lane (both events at the 1912 Olympics) and Linnosvuo using only Olympic titles. Benner, on the other hand, is the only shooter with two titles in both events.

| Year | Venue | Individual | Team | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1896 | Athens | Ioannis Frangoudis (GRE) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1900 | Paris | Maurice Larrouy (FRA) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1912 | Stockholm | Alfred Lane (USA) | Sweden | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1920 | Antwerp | Guilherme Paraense (BRA) | United States | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1924 | Paris | Henry Bailey (USA) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1932 | Los Angeles | Renzo Morigi (ITA) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1933 | Granada | Charles des Jammonières (FRA) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1935 | Rome | Walter Boninsegni (ITA) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1936 | Berlin | Cornelius van Oyen (GER) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1937 | Helsinki | Kārlis Kļava (LAT) | Finland | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1939 | Luzern | Torsten Ullman (SWE) | Hungary | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1947 | Stockholm | Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente (ARG) | Italy | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1948 | London | Károly Takács (HUN) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1949 | Buenos Aires | Huelet Benner (USA) | Argentina | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1952 | Oslo | Huelet Benner (USA) | United States | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1952 | Helsinki | Károly Takács (HUN) | | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics | Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics |
| 1954 | Caracas | Nikolai Kalinichenko (URS) | Soviet Union |
| 1956 | Melbourne | Ştefan Petrescu (ROU) |
| 1958 | Moscow | Alexander Kropotin (URS) | Soviet Union | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1960 | Rome | William McMillan (USA) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1962 | Cairo | Alexander Zabelin (URS) | Soviet Union | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1964 | Tokyo | Pentti Linnosvuo (FIN) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | Virgil Atanasiu (ROU) | Soviet Union | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1968 | Mexico City | Józef Zapędzki (POL) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1970 | Phoenix | Giovanni Liverzani (ITA) | Czechoslovakia | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1972 | Munich | Józef Zapędzki (POL) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1974 | Thun | Alfred Radke (FRG) | Soviet Union | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1976 | Montreal | Norbert Klaar (GDR) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1978 | Seoul | Ove Gunnarsson (SWE) | West Germany | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1980 | Moscow | Corneliu Ion (ROU) | | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1982 | Caracas | Igor Puzirev (URS) | Soviet Union | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 | Károly Takács, the first double Olympic Champion, competing in 1961 |
| 1984 | Los Angeles | Takeo Kamachi (JPN) |
| 1986 | Suhl | Adam Kaczmarek (POL) | Soviet Union |
| 1988 | Seoul | Afanasijs Kuzmins (URS) |
| 1990 | Moscow | Ralf Schumann (GDR) | Soviet Union | Juniors | Juniors |
| 1992 | Barcelona | Ralf Schumann (GER) | | Individual | Team |
| 1994 | Milan | Krzysztof Kucharczyk (POL) | Poland | Joseph Gonzalez (USA) | Germany |
| 1996 | Atlanta | Ralf Schumann (GER) |
| 1998 | Barcelona | Ralf Schumann (GER) | Germany | Jorge Llames (ESP) | Germany |
| 2000 | Sydney | Sergei Alifirenko (RUS) |
| 2002 | Lahti | Marco Spangenberg (GER) | Germany | Martin Behrendt (GER) | Germany |
| 2004 | Athens | Ralf Schumann (GER) |
| 2006 | Zagreb | Zhang Penghui (CHN) | China | Christian Reitz (GER) | Russia |
| 2008 | Beijing | Oleksandr Petriv (UKR) |
| 2010 | Munich | Alexei Klimov (RUS) | China | Zhou Zhiguo (CHN) | China |
| 2012 | London | Leuris Pupo (CUB) |
| 2014 | Granada | Kim Jun Hong (KOR) | Germany | Jean Quiquampoix (FRA) | China |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro | Christian Reitz (GER) |
| 2021 | Tokyo | Jean Quiquampoix (FRA) |

* ↑ Only muzzle-loading pistols of .45 caliber. The 25 metre military pistol event, which was won using a Colt revolver, was a separate event.
* ↑ 20 metre military pistol event
* ↑ 30 metre dueling pistol event
* ↑ 30 metre military pistol event
