Published on 11 Dec 2015

XIIth African Shooting Championship succesfully conducted in Cairo (EGY)

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The competition took place in the shadow of the Giza Pyramid from November 29th through December 6th.

The XIIth African Shooting Championships were successfully conducted in Cairo, Egypt on 29 November through 6 December.  Athletes from 16 African countries competed for African Championship titles and Olympic quota places in 15 Olympic events. 

The African Shooting Sports Federation and the Egyptian Shooting Federation – chaired by Mr. Ahmed Hazem Hosny - organized the Championship. Rifle and Pistol events were conducted at the historic Armed Forces Shooting Range located in the shadow of the iconic Giza Pyramids, on the lines that hosted the 1962 World Shooting Championship.  Shotgun events were conducted at the 6th of October Shooting Range that previously hosted the 2001 World Championship. 

The Championship began with a spectacular opening ceremony on 29 November.  Speakers at the ceremony were Organizing Committee Chairman Ahmed Hazem Hosny, ISSF Vice President and Technical Delegate Gary Anderson and the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Khaled Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.  The ceremony featured a high-tech sound, light and graphic presentation, traditional dances, music provided by famous Egyptian singers, a full dinner for all delegates and youth-oriented dancing.

(Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Khaled Mahmoud Abdel Aziz. Photo: Gary Anderson)


The Championship received strong support from the Egyptian government and Armed Forces.  Another government executive, the Minister of Investment, Ashraf Abdel Tawwab Salman, visited the 6th of October Shotgun Range and fired a ceremonial “first shot” before the start of the first day of Shotgun competition.  Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, the Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports visited the Armed Forces Ranges and presented awards after the fourth day of competition.

Sixteen African nations participated in the Championship, which represented the last chance to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the shooters of Africa. 

The African Shooting Sports Federation under the leadership of its President Hazem Hosny is working very hard to promote the shooting sport on the continent, both to build active programs in more countries and to organize coach and judge training courses to develop leaders.  The fact that four of the 14 Olympic quota winners in the Championship were juniors, Afaf ELHODHOD (EGY), 19; Hadir MEKHIMAR (EGY). 18; Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY), 19 and Chafik BOUAOUD (ALG), 16, is evidence that the African Federation’s developmental efforts are succeeding.


(The Chairman of the Organizing Committee A. H. Hozny and the ISSF Vice-President G. Anderson with the Voluteers of the African Shooting Championships in Cairo)


Fourteen Olympic quotas were distributed during the competition.  Egyptian athletes won the most Olympic slots, 10, but athletes from Algeria, Namibia, Tunisia and Zimbabwe also secured a pass to Rio de Janeiro.  Athletes in the 15th Olympic event, Skeet Women, faced very difficult conditions during the match, and no one obtained the Minimum Qualification Score set for the event, and so that quota could not be distributed. 

After 15 events, it was host nation Egypt that finished atop of the medal standings, winning the most African Championship medals, but athletes from 10 different African nations stepped onto Cairo’s podium, once again demonstrating shooting’s universality.

The next slots for the 2016 Olympic Games will be awarded at the Asian Olympic Qualifying Competition for Shooting to be held in New Delhi (IND) in January, and at the European Championship in 10m events which will take place in Gyor (HUN), next February. 


Rio 2016 Quota places distributed at the XIIth African Shooting Championship:

Event  Name  Country 
10m Air Rifle Men  Chafik Bouaoud  ALG 
10m Air Rifle Women  Hadir Mekhimar  EGY 
50m Pistol Men  Samy Abdel Razek  EGY 
Trap Women  Gaby Diana Ahrens  NAM 
25m Pistol Women  Olfa Charni  TUN 
Trap Men  Abdel Aziz Mehelba  EGY 
50m Rifle Prone Men  Ahmed Darwish  EGY 
10m Air Pistol Men  Ahmed Mohamed  EGY 
25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men  Ahmed Shaban  EGY 
Double Trap Men  Michael Sean James Nicholson  ZIM 
10m Air Pistol Women  Afaf Elhodhod  EGY 
50m Rifle 3 Positions Men  Hamada Talat  EGY 
50m Rifle 3 Positions Women  Nourhan Amer  EGY 
Skeet Men  Franco Donato  EGY