Super 25. The favourite discovered: Rifle Men Events

The entry lists are discovered, and only a few days are missing before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games of Beijing. 390 participants coming from 103 countries are going to compete on the ranges of the Olympic venue. Who are the favourites? Who could finish on the podium? These are difficult questions that the ISSF Magazine tried to answer with statistic. When emotions are on the stage, numbers are the only way to draw a ranking, and the ISSF News Magazine made its attempt with the “Super 25” ranking based on statistics and results of the last years.
Let’s discover the favourites in the three Olympic Rifle Men Event!

50m Rifle Three Positions Men

The leader: Artem KHADJIBEKOV
Nation: Russian Federation (RUS)
Year of birth: 1970
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 8th
OG Athens ’04 placement: 5th
Best OG placement: 4th (Sydney 2000)

Artem KHADJIBEKOV of the Russian Federation, 38, can be considered the most favourite shooter finish on the podium of the 50m Rifle Three Positions Men event: his results, his consistency and his excellent shooting skills placed him atop of the “favourites list”.
Twice Olympic medallist in the 10m Air Rifle event at the Games of Atlanta 1996 (Gold) and Sydney 2000 (Silver), the long experienced KHADJIBEKOV has been focusing on the 50m Rifle Three Positions Event throughout the last years, placing in fourth at the Olympics of Athens 2004. Now the statistics place him atop of the “Super 25” ranking, thanks to the excellent international results he has achieved during the last three years. World Cup multi-medallist in 2005, twice Bronze medallist at the World Cup Final 2005 and 2006, KHADJIBEKOV was finally declared World Champion at the last World Championships of Zagreb 2006, where he placed in first leaving his opponents more then four points behind him. Positive results came also during the 2007 shooting season, when he won the first World Cup of the year, hosted at the range of Fort Benning, USA defeating the rifle specialists of China, Ukraine and USA.
Next to the mere numbers, KHADJIBEKOV showed to his opponents to be one of the hardest shooter to beat both in the 10m Air Rifle and in the 50m Rifle Three Positions events. It will not be easy for the title-holder, the Chinese shooter Zhanbo JIA to keep up with this Artem KHADJIBEKOV from the Russian Federation.

Super 25 – 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men:

50m Rifle Prone Men

The leader: Sergei MARTYNOV
Nation: Belarus (BLR)
Year of birth: 1968
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 3rd 
OG Athens ’04 placement: 3rd
Best OG placement: 3rd (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004)

The current World Record holder Sergei MARTYNOV, 40, needs almost no presentations for those in known with the shooting sport. The Belarussian shooter holds the highest placements in the 50m Rifle Prone Men event since a decade ago, and is recognised as one of the best rifle shooter of the World in this event.
MARTYNOV’s medal showcase is impressive, a collection of medals and titles earned during the last twenty years on the most important stages of the World. His last achievement, a Gold medal gained at the 2007 ISSF World Cup Final of Bangkok, is just a piece of his successful career. Only 18 World Cup medals, four World Cup Final Golds, and the title of World Champion won in 2006 can describe this top athlete, who has always surprised his opponents with his deep and impenetrable concentration.
MARTYNOV rose to the first place of the “Super 25” statistic rank compiled by the ISSF NEWS, a placement that identify him as the statistically most favourite shooter to climb the Olympic podium of Beijing 2008 in this event. Someone else should feel the pressure of the leadership, but this is not MARTYNOV’s first time. His Olympic experience started in 1988, from Seoul, (where he placed in 14th place in the 10m Air Rifle event), and continued in 1996 in Atlanta, where he gained the 6th place in the 50m Rifle Prone final. MARTYNOV improved his scores during the Games of Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, winning two Bronze medals that probably left him thirsty for a higher placement on the podium. This target he will try to hit in Beijing.

Super 25 – 50m Rifle Prone Men:

10m Air Rifle Men

The Leader: Qinan ZHU
Nation: People’s Republic of China (CHN)
Year of birth: 1984
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 1st
OG Athens ’04 placement: 1st 
Best OG placement: 1st (Athens 2004)

The 24-year old Chinese shooter Qinan ZHU could be the best candidate to win a medal in the 10m Air Rifle Men event at the Games of Beijing 2008. Statistics place him on the lead, but his chances of victory root much deeper than statistics can tell. ZHU is going to compete in front of his audience, a factor that proved to be determinant for first-class results in the past. Moreover, he is arriving in Beijing as the title-holder, since he won the 2004 Olympic Games of Athens, at the age of 20.
The young ZHU was first presented to the shooting aficionados in the year 2004, when he won almost every medal he shot for. From there on, he has always being leading the 10m Air Rifle Men World Ranking, winning two ISSF World Cup Finals (in 2004 and 2007, both held in Bangkok), and five World Cup Gold medals (out of ten participations). These impressive numbers should clear why ZHU is considered the most probable future Olympic Champion of Beijing: during his short but intense sport career he made no mistakes, except for a defiance at the last 2006 World Championships, where he missed the title and came in third. Could the young age and the pressure of the home field trick this shooting star? It’s possible, experts say. What is true is that ZHU displays exceptional shooting skills and impressive determination to win, and has already proved to be able to lead an Olympic match four years ago.

Super 25 – 10m Air Rifle Men: