TargetTalk

Thought I should post this up before the 2009 World Cup season gets underway. I started on this after the 2004 Olympics to figure out which shooters were shooting which rifles. It turned out a lot differently than I thought actually. Hope it's informative. Enjoy
Ryan


Results from the 2004 Olympics, 2006 World Shooting Championships, 2005-08 world cups and the 2008 Olympic Games.

132 total air rifle medals available (66 MAR and 66 WAR)

79 medals won by shooters using FWB (30 gold, 28 silver, 21 bronze)
27 medals won by shooters using Walther (8 gold, 9 silver, 10 bronze)
21 medals won by shooters using Anschutz (5 gold, 6 silver, 10 bronze)
5 medals won by shooter using Steyr (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)

Feinwerkbau 700: 34 medals (15 gold, 10 silver, 9 bronze)
Feinwerkbau P-70: 45 medals (15 Gold, 18 silver, 12 bronze)

Walther LG 300: 27 medals (8 Gold, 9 silver, 10 bronze)

Anschutz 2002: 14 medals (4 Gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze)
Anschutz 8002/9003: 7 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze)

Steyr LG 110: 5 medals (1gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)


Key:
MAR = Men’s air rifle
WAR = Women’s air rifle
OR = Olympic Match Record
FOR = Olympic Record with Final
FWR = World Record with Final

Current WAR world record holder:
Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER) 400+105.0=505.0 – Feinwerkbau
WC Milan, Italy 2008

Current WAR Olympic record holder:
Katerina Emmons (CZE) 400+103.5=504.5 – Anschutz
Olympic Games, Beijing, China 2008

Current MAR world record holder:
Thomas Farnik (AUT) 599 +104.1—Steyr
WCF Granada, Spain 2006

Current MAR Olympic record holder:
Zhu Qinan (CHN) 599+103.7=702.7 – Feinwerkbau
Olympic Games, Athens, Greece 2004

And here’s the breakdown.

2004 Olympic Games, Athens, Greece
WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Galkina Liubov (RUS)--Walther
Bronze: Katarina Kerkova (CZE)--Anschutz

MAR:
Gold: Zhu Qinan (CHN)--Feinwerkbau (599+103.7=702.7)(OR/FOR)
Silver: Li Jie (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Jozef Gonci (SVK)--Feinwerkbau

2005 World Cup Changwon, Korea
WAR:
Gold: Zhao Yinghui (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Yin Wen (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Tatiana Iouchkova (RUS)--Feinwerkbau

MAR:
Gold: Jason Parker (USA)--Anschutz
Silver: Peter Sidi (HUN)--Walther
Bronze: Dennis Sokolov (RUS)--Walther

2005 World Cup USA, Ft. Benning, Georgia
WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Zhao Yinghui (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Wu Liuxi (CHN)--Feinwerkbau

MAR:
Gold: Zhu Qinan (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Peter Sidi (HUN)--Walther
Bronze: Thomas Farnik (AUT)--Steyr

2005 World Cup Munich, Germany
WAR:
Gold: Wu Liuxi (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Pavla Habartova (CZE)--Anschutz
Bronze: Natallia Kalnysh (UKR)--Walther

MAR:
Gold: Ryan Tanoue (USA)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Alin Moldoveanu (ROM)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Young Sueb Lim (KOR)--Feinwerkbau

2005 World Cup Milan, Italy
WAR:
Gold: Du Li (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Wu Liuxi (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER)--Feinwerkbau

MAR:
Gold: Zhu Qinan (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Alin Moldoveanu (ROM)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Liu Tianyou (CHN)--Anschutz

2005 World Cup Final, Munich, Germany
WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Zhao Yinghui (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Wu Liuxi (CHN)--Feinwerkbau

MAR:
Gold: Dennis Sokolov (RUS)--Walther
Silver: Alin Moldoveanu (ROM)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Ryan Tanoue (USA)—Feinwerkbau

2006 World Cup Guangzhou, China
MAR:
Gold: Gagan Narang (IND)—Walther
Silver: Tianyou Liu (CHN)—Anschutz
Bronze: Artem Khadjibekov (RUS)—Walther

WAR:
Gold: Yinghui Zhao (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Batkhuyag Zorigt (MGL)—Walther


2006 World Cup Resende, Brazil
MAR:
Gold: Christian Planer (AUT)—Walther
Silver: Are Hansen (NOR)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Serguei Kruglov (RUS)—Walther

WAR:
Gold: Katerina Kerkova (CZE)—Anschutz
Silver: Pavla Kalna (CZE)—Anschutz
Bronze: Sylwia Bogacka (POL) Anschutz

2006 World Cup Munich, Germany
MAR:
Gold: Jozef Gonci (SVK)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Qinan Zhu (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Matthew Emmons (USA)—Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Elsa Caputo (ITA)--Walther
Silver: Sylwia Bogacka (POL)--Anschutz
Bronze: Svlatiana Budzko (BLR)--Feinwerkbau

2006 World Cup Milan, Italy
MAR:
Gold: Qinan Zhu (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Frank Koestel (GER)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Thomas Farnik (AUT)—Steyr

WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Lioubov Galkina (RUS)—Walther
Bronze: Yinghui Zhao (CHN)—Feinwerkbau

2006 World Shooting Championships, Zagreb Croatia
MAR:
Gold: Abhinav Bindra (IND)—Walther
Silver: Alin Moldoveanu (ROM)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Qinan Zhu (CHN)—Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Katerina Kurkova (CZE)—Anschutz
Bronze: Olga Dovgun (KAZ)--Walther

2006 World Cup Final, Grenada, Spain
MAR:
Gold: Thomas Farnik (AUT)—Steyr (599+104.1=703.1)(FWR)
Silver: Tianyou Liu (CHN)--Anschutz
Bronze: Qinan Zhu (CHN)—Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Yinghui Zhao (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER)—Feinwerkbau

2007 World Cup USA, Ft Benning, Georgia
MAR:
Gold: Qinan Zhu (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Matthew Emmons (USA)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Tianyou Liu (CHN)—Anschutz

WAR:
Gold: Yi Zhang (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Jamie Beyerle (USA)--Anschutz

2007 World Cup Sydney, Australia
MAR:
Gold: Yun Lin (CHN)--Feinwerkbau
Silver: Mario Knoegler (AUT)—Walther
Bronze: Peter Sidi (HUN)—Walther

WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Yinghui Zhao (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Olga Dovgun (KAZ)--Walther

2007 World Cup Bangkok, Thailand
MAR:
Gold: Peter Sidi (HUN)—Walther
Silver: Alin Moldoveanu (ROM)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Jozef Gonci (SVK)—Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Yinghui Zhao (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Siler: Yi Zhang (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Barbara Lechner (GER)—Feinwerkbau

2007 World Cup Munich, Germany
MAR:
Gold: Tino Mohaupt (GER)—Anschutz
Silver: Thomas Farnik (AUT)—Steyr
Bronze: Qinan ZHU (CHN)—Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Sylvia Aumann (GER)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Olga Dovgun (KAZ)--Walther

2007 World Cup Final Bangkok, Thailand
MAR:
Gold: Qinan Zhu (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Peter Sidi (HUN)—Walther
Bronze: Tino Mohaupt (GER)—Anschutz

WAR:
Gold: Li Du (CHN)—Feinwerkbau
Silver: Barbara Lechner (GER)—Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Katerina Emmons (CZE)—Anschutz

2008 World Cup Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
MAR:
Gold: Peter Sidi (HUN) – Walther
Silver: Alin George Moldoveanu (ROM) – Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Nemanja Mirosavljev (SRB) - Feinwerkbau

WAR:
Gold: Barbara Lechner (GER) - Feinwerkbau
Silver: Beate Gauss (GER) – Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Eun Hye Kim (KOR) - Feinwerkbau

2008 World Cup Beijing, China
MAR:
Gold: Qinan Zhu (CHN) – Feinwerkbau
Silver: Matt Emmons (USA) – Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Gagan Narang (IND) - Walther

WAR:
Gold: Katerina Emmons (CZE) – Anschutz
Silver: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER) – Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Li Du (CHN) - Feinwerkbau

2008 World Cup Munich, Germany
MAR:
Gold: Alin George Moldoveanu (ROM) - Feinwerkbau
Silver: Zhu Qinan (CHN) - Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Thomas Farnik (AUT) – Steyr

WAR:
Gold: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER) – Feinwerkbau
Silver: Galkina Lioubov (RUS) – Walther
Bronze: Agnieszka Staron (POL) – Anschutz

2008 World Cup Milan, Italy
MAR:
Gold: Zhu Qinan (CHN) – Feinwerkbau
Silver: Cao Yifei (CHN) – Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Peter Sidi (HUN) – Walther

WAR:
Gold: Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER)--Feinwerkbau (400+105.0=505.0)(FWR)
Silver: Katerina Emmons (CZE) – Anschutz
Bronze: Liuxi Wu (CHN) – Feinwerkbau

2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, China
MAR:
Gold: Abhinav Bindra (IND) - Walther
Silver: Zhu Qinan (CHN) - Feinwerkbau
Bronze: Henri Hakkinen (FIN) - Anschutz

WAR:
Gold: Katerina Emmons (CZE) – Anschutz (400+103.5=503.5)(OR/FOR)
Silver: Galkina Lioubov (RUS) - Walther
Bronze: Snjezana Pejcic (CRO) - Feinwerkbau

Thanks! Very interesting...

Congrats on your 2005 gold and bronze medals at the WC's as well. Certainly one heck of an accomplishment!

Thanks! I appreciate it.
Ryan

Ryan

It would be very interesting to see who was using laminate stocks and Alu stocks amongst these great shooters?
For example, FWB 700 ALU or laminate, Walther LG-300 ALU or laminate.
FWB P-70 laminate or ALU.
Thanks for that very interesting list of who uses what.

Peeps

This would be very interesting to look at. It would take a lot of work going through pictures to double check, and actually i don't know if there are pics from some of the matches before the ISSF changed up their website. I know that several shooters who had wood/laminate stocks before have switched to aluminum or to a new rifle all together. For example, the 2004 mens olympic air champion Zhu Qinan from China won the olympics with a wood stock P70, but in 2008 he won his medal with an aluminum 700.

I made this list mostly to look at brand vs brand. I actually went back half way and checked the actual models within each brand.

Ryan

Thanks Ryan
Your right, it would be pretty difficult and time consuming and as you say, people do swap around with their guns.

We have just had the British air gun champs and a Walther LG-300XT won the men's final. FWB 700 alu second.

Peeps

Ryan,

Thanks for the great work on this, it is certainly an eye-opening set of data. I have always wondered though, being a mathematics & statistics professor, if the the medal results are more dependent upon the rifle or upon the skill of the shooter that particular day. For instance, when you won your medals (congrats by the way), would it have made a difference (either positive or negative) if you had shot a different brand of rilfe during that match (assumiong of course sufficient practice time with that rifle)? Perhaps that would be a good study.

You have a great point. I definitely feel that the rifle is in no way the deciding factor when it comes to winning medals at any level. I honestly believe that the best shooters in the world could use any brand of rifle and be very successful. For me personally although i have used a Feinwerkbau air rifle for my entire career, I think i could have performed well with an Anschutz, Walther, or Steyr.

I feel the most interesting part is that unlike many young shooters who are limited by their clubs or by money, the best shooters in the world can choose to shoot whichever brand of rifle they like. I did not expect to see such a majority of the medals won by one brand over the rest.

my 2 cents.
Ryan

You would have to factor in price and availability as well though. The top model FWB is much cheaper than the top models of Anschutz or Walther, and they are easier to get ahold of than Walther for sure.

I think the comfortability of the rifles are worth a few points. If the rifle felt a little weird to you, you probably wouldn't feel as confident with it which might cost you a few 9s. But Ryan is right, I think the top level shooters could shoot top level scores with any brand, same with any sport really.

I agree with methosb, any of the top shooters could with a bit of training with a different rifle shoot great scores.

It would be interesting to find out what brand of pellets they are using and like FWB who are leading the medal table and are the most popular gun, perhaps H+N are the leading pellet brand, but i don't know for sure.

Watching some of the ISSF TV, it was really interesting to see Galkina using a laminate Walther LG-300 and Sonja Pheilschifter using an old FWB P-70. Like wise Katy Emmons using an old Anschutz 2002. This has no stabilizer and you can see the muzzle jump on shot release if you look carefully but she still puts them in the middle.

I'm beginning to think that the latest models are perhaps not always the best for some people and are stabilisers a good thing or not?

Peeps

I totally agree with methosb. Since last October, 5 members of my club including myself were looking at buying our own ARs. Two of us were looking at Walther's Carbontec and Anatomic. After numerous emails (most unidirectional) between Germany and my computer, the two disappointed members (including myself!) tried sending our first email to FWB factory in January. The next day in my fax machine was a proforma invoice from FWB for 5 ARs with unbelievable prices (I believe that might as well be the dealer price). It would not be too hard to guess which rifles we have chosen. Today, we have 5 proud FWB owners in our club. Well, we are no top shooters. But if one day one of us ever get into a World Cup final, I think we will add one tally for FWB and it would not be too difficult to explain why.

I second that, FWB are really on the ball with customers and i can vouch for their positive attitude when i visited the factory a few years ago.

Anschutz are also good with customers but sadly Walther are not easy to deal with and they hardly ever answer my e mails.
If you have a technical querie, its like getting blood out of a stone.
Everything changed at Walther after UMEREX took over.

Its easy to see why FWB are so popular, there are more FWB guns out there than any other make.

Determining which pellets are the most used would be pretty difficult I think. For me, depending on my most recent test I might be using H&N for one year and then RWS the next. I was always out for whichever pellets shot the best groups, not necessarily which brand I liked. On top of that I have noticed that some of the Chinese shooters compete with pellets made in China, so I am not sure we could ever get our hands on those.

In terms of pricing although some can get in contact directly with the manufacturer most buy their rifles through a shop or distributer. I feel here in the states all of the brands are priced competitively against each other. My point about the clubs and younger shooters is that they will be affected the most by pricing or availability. On the other hand the best shooters can decide on which ever brand they feel is best for them regardless of price.

Personally I think all of the companies have very good customer service. Although I shoot FWB, I have been welcomed into the Anschutz factory and their workers and owners have been nothing but kind to me over my career. Same with Feinwerkbau.

Ryan

Here's some photos from when Ryan won a gold medal at the Munich World Cup a couple of years ago
http://pilkguns.com/2005/ryan/index.htm