Posted by DANNY on February 09, 2002 at 11:23:14:
I am just starting
shooting at 16. I see Olympics as the ultimate goal. Am I to late? Most of the
interviews Ive seen of Olympic shooters started when they were around 10 years
old.
Posted by Richard Hutchinson on February 09, 2002 at 11:40:29:
No you’re
not too late. Unlike a lot of sports lots of the to ranked shooters are in their
thirties some may even be in their fortys. You just have to have the talent and
dedication to practice a lot. Get yourself a coach as soon as possible so that
you don't pick up a lot of bad habits. Set yourself lots of smaller goals in
between, this way you can monitor your progress towards being a National Team
member. Good luck, and remember this sport is mainly for fun. It's not like
Hockey, baseball or football where you can become pro and make lots of bucks.
What do you plan on shooting?
Posted by Hany on February 09, 2002 at 13:26:02:
Danny, I just turned 18
and I've been shooting for about 7-8years. I've met a lot of people since I
started shooting and I've learned a lot of thing that are not only good tool to
become a better shooter, but better learner and better person. Listen to this:
Shooters are not born, they are made! As Mr. Hutchinson said, get a coach so
this way you won't learn any incorrect techniques. Look around and see if you
can join some shooting program in high school. If nothing, get some books and
videos and learn at the same time that you are looking for range and gear. You
can try out Sporter category, much easier to afford.
Hany
Posted by Bob LeDoux on February 09, 2002 at 15:02:18:
Its my
understanding that the oldest Olympic medallist in any sport was a 72 year old,
shooting free pistol. I think its reasonable for even 50 year old shooters to
consider the possibility of competing in the Olympics. At that age, the biggest
problem will be avoiding the prohibited drugs that are commonly given for middle
age health problems, such as beta blockers used to control high blood
pressure.
The number who are actively competing in shooting sports is quite
small.
Posted by Roly on February 09, 2002 at 21:13:07:
Maybe so...But I was at
a website which listed the hometowns and d-o-b's of the top 100 pistol shooters
in the world (International Style shooting). Sorry to report that the average
age was in the low mid 30's and I don't recall even one being over age
40.
That being said, I'm way past 40 but I know that if I can only get enough
practice I'll be up on that stand when the National Anthem is played in '04!
Hope springs eternal...
(Aside to those who know me, Yeh, I know you know
better.)
Posted by Richard Hutchinson on February 09, 2002 at 22:04:41:
If you
look at shooting sports as a whole there are quite a few ISSF ranked shooter
over 40 Yifu Wang of China is 42 and Bill Demerest is 38 and I don't see him
slowing down. So the kid is 16, he has lots of time to learn the skills. There
may even be a chance for you and me (I'm in 36 and just started AP last week).
Posted by Andy Wai on February 11, 2002 at 08:09:18:
There is one point
that nobody seems to have raised so far: What exactly is Olympic level? Is just
getting though the quota process Olympic level, or do you mean having a
realistic chance of winning it Olympic level? The latter is hard no matter how
you look at it. The former varies depending on the country. The expectation and
the price you pay also varies. In China, shooting is a big thing. Almost all the
people competing for Olympic spots are professionals. In fact, at last year's
Chinese National Games, Yifu Wang won the air pistol but was beaten at free
pistol. The guy who beat Yifu Wang was a policeman by profession. That fact was
all overall the newspaper the next day.
Anyway, in the system like the one in
China, the depth of the team is incredible. The guy that won air rifle at the
Olympics shoot better at the National Games but didn't even get to the podium.
For the system as a whole, the chance of win the Olympics is very good (after
all, they did win it in Sydney). But because the standard is so high, the chance
of a particular individual making the team not that great. Everything has to be
perfect. One slip and you're gone.
And you can probably take any "second
rate" shooter from China who nobody has ever heard of before and who probably
has no chance of ever going to the Olympics through the Chinese system, move
this to, say, Canada, and he/she will likely clean out the Crossman, then the
Nationals and then go on to the Olympics in 2004 just like that. So everything
depends on where you are. Being in a country where shooting is no big is not
necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on how far you really aspire to
go.
Andy Wai
Posted by David Levene on February 10, 2002 at 03:55:36:
If you look at
the ISSF World Ranking top 100 male air pistol shooters:-
30% of the top 10
will be 40 or over this year
15% of the top 100 will be 40 or over this
year
42% of the top 100 will be 35 or over this year
Posted by David M on February 09, 2002 at 21:55:49:
Danny,
I started
pistol shooting in the early Eighty's and at the age of 46 went to the 2000
Sydney Olympics.
Age is not a barrier; it depends on how hungry you are. If
you are hungry enough to really want to go, you will put in the work and make it
happen.
See you in Athens or maybe Shanghais.
David Moore, Australia.
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