Super 25. The favourite discovered: Pistol Men Events

The Pistol Men Events are almost unpredictable: a small tenth of a point can surely change the output of a 10m Air Pistol Final, as well as a bad series can compromise a 25m Rapid Fire Pistol match. Therefore, the only indications about favourites can come from statistics, and this is the attempt of the ISSF NEWS magazine. The Super 25 Ranking based on statistic spots out some surprise: the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Champion Ralf SCHUMANN of Germany, a three times Olympic Champion, is not in first position, overtook by the young Chinese athlete Penghui ZHANG, who showed to have the numbers to finish on the podium in front of his audience.
China and Germany are two of the most favourite contenders in Pistol Events, but they have to face the Russian Pistol dream-team, which places two shooters atop of the 10m Air Pistol and of the 50m Pistol Ranking. The fights are announced to be trilling, who will end up on the Olympic podiums?

50m Pistol Men

The leader: Vladimir ISAKOV
Nation: Russian Federation (RUS)
Year of birth: 1970
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 6th 
OG Athens ’04 placement: -
Best OG placement: - 

 
The Russian pistol master Vladimir ISAKOV, 38, is one of the current best pistol shooters of the World. His international ranking mirrors his prominent position in the shooting panorama: first in the 10m Air Pistol Men event, and sixth in the 50m Pistol Men event. The “Super 25” ranking based on statistics confirms these data, placing the Russian shooter between the most favourites to win a medal in Beijing in these pistol events. Competing since 1986, ISAKOV started to win considerable international prices in 1995, when he gained his first ISSF Silver medal at the World Cup held in Munich. From there on, he has been awarded with 13 World Cup medals, confirming his leadership in pistol events. 
Remarkable results qualified him to represent Russia at the Games of Athens, where he deserved a Bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol final.  Starting from that Olympic medal, the Russian champion kept improving on the path leading to Beijing, and proved to be a competitive athlete with both the 10m Air Pistol and the 50m Pistol. ISSF World Cup Finals were the stages of his most representative victories: he first won the title with a free pistol in 2006, and then stood on the highest step of the podium with an air pistol in 2007. The ability to place outstanding shots, and a long experience as finalist, make of ISAKOV one of the strongest contenders for a medal in Beijing. There, it is predictable, he will have to fight both against the Chinese experts: looking at the Super 25 Ranking, he is followed by his teammate Boris KOKOREV (who will not compete at the Beijing Games), and by the two Chinese athletes Zhongzai LIN and Zongliang TAN.

50m Pistol Men

10m Air Pistol Men Event

The leader: Vladimir GONTCHAROV
Nation: Russian Federation (RUS)
Year of birth: 1977
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 2nd  
OG Athens ’04 placement: -
Best OG placement: 9th (Sydney 2000)

The 31-year old Vladimir GONTCHAROV had to fight to gain a spot in the Olympic pistol team of the Russian Federation, which can count on a number of skilled and experienced shooters. After reaching fair results at the Olympic Games of Sydney 2000, when he placed in fourth in the 50m Pistol event and in ninth in the 10m Air Pistol event, GONTCHAROV did not participate in the 2004 Games of Athens, being overtaken by his teammates. Now he is back on the lead, thanks to the excellent international results he reached during the last three years, and he is now listed between the bests of the World in the 10m Air Pistol event.
2006 and 2007 were two determinant seasons in the comeback of GONTCHAROV. Nobody could stop him at the 2006 ISSF World Cup Final, when he closed the final match in first after defeating Franck DUMOULIN of France, his teammate Vladimir ISAKOV and the Chinese athlete Zonglian TAN, who are actually contending with him the title of favourite pistol shooter for the next Olympic Games. He had already displayed his potentials a few months before, at the 2006 ISSF World Championships of Zagreb, where he had placed in third winning Bronze in front of the same ISAKOV, team friend and opponents at the same time.
Fighting to get into the Russian Olympic pistol team, GONTCHAROV kept challenging his opponents during the 2007 ISSF World Cup series, winning a Gold and a Bronze medal in Sydney and Fort Benning, respectively. The 2008 year was also a successful season for the Russian athlete, who remarked his skills on the international shooting panorama by winning a Silver medal at the pre-Olympic World Cup of Beijing, and grabbing a Bronze at the ISSF World Cup Stage of Munich. Those excellent goals resulted in an outstanding placement in the World ranking, and in a front position in the “Super 25” ranking based on statistics. This time, that’s the thought, won’t be easy to keep GONTCHAROV far from the Olympic final hall of Beijing.

10m Air Pistol Men Event

25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men

The leader: Penghui ZHANG
Nation: People’s Republic of China (CHN)
Year of birth: 1978
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 6th  
OG Athens ’04 placement: 7th
Best OG placement: 7th (Athens 2004)

Penghui ZHANG emerged in the years 2006 and 2007, winning several World Cup medals and titles, and attempting the leadership of the World most successful Rapid Fire shooter Ralf SCHUMANN of Germany. ZHANG first won the applauses of the spectators at the 2006 ISSF World Championships of Zagreb, earning the title of World Champion with a six points margin on his opponents after an outstanding final match. The 2006 ISSF World Cup Final also was a stage for ZHANG to display excellent shooting: he shot the highest final score in spite of entering the final round with a large disadvantage, eventually landing in third place.
Coming from such victories, ZHANG started the 2007 ISSF World Cup series in the limelight, coming up with the expectations of his fans. First he won Silver at the World Cup Fort Benning at the beginning of the year, and then won ahead of everybody both the World Cups held in Sydney and Munich.
However, ZHANG’s Olympic experience can’t be considered exceptional. He ended up in seventh place at the last Games of Athens, remaining out of the six-way final.  Nowadays, leading the current Super 25 Ranking, ZHANG will arrive in Beijing as one of the favourite shooters in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Event, but statistics can’t easily predict the unpredictable. There, indeed, he will have to face the German Champion Ralf SCHUMANN, ruler of the Rapid Fire Event since years, as well as the famous Russian pistol team, in a competition where the experience is a determinant factor. 

25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men