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Ralf Schumann

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ralf Schumann
Personal information
Nationality Germany
Born (1962-06-10) 10 June 1962 (age 62)
Meissen, East Germany
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportShooting
Event25 metre rapid fire pistol
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 2 -
World Championships 4 1 2
World Cup Final 13 2 3
European Championships 7 2 1
Total 27 7 6
Summer Olympics
Men's shooting
Representing  Germany
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 25 m rapid fire pistol
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 25 m rapid fire pistol
Representing  East Germany
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul 25 m rapid fire pistol
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1990 Moscow 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1998 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1998 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Suhl 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Milan 25 m rapid fire pistol
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place 1989 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1990 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1991 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1992 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1993 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1994 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1995 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1996 Lugano 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1999 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2000 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2002 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2004 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2007 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol
Silver medal – second place 2003 Milan 25 m rapid fire pistol
Silver medal – second place 2006 Granada 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Zurich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1989 Zagreb 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1991 Bologna 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1993 Brno 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1995 Zurich 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 1999 Bordeaux 25 m rapid fire pistol
Gold medal – first place 2003 Plzen 25 m rapid fire pistol
Silver medal – second place 1985 Osijek 25 m rapid fire pistol
Silver medal – second place 2001 Zagreb 25 m rapid fire pistol
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Kouvola 25 m rapid fire pistol

Ralf Schumann (born 10 June 1962) is a former German 25 m rapid fire pistol shooter. He is a three-time Olympic Champion and twice the World Champion. One of the most decorated shooters of the modern era, he is the first of two sport shooters to have won three Olympic gold medals in one individual event (25 metre rapid fire pistol) and became the first of three sport shooters to have won three Olympic individual gold medals. He won the gold medals for the 25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the 1992, 1996 and 2004 Olympics and also won two silver medals at this event, becoming the most successful Olympic shooter at this event. Schumann participated in seven consecutive Olympic Games from 1988 to 2012, setting a new record for most Olympic appearances by a German athlete.

Career

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His international breakthrough came in the years before the Seoul Olympics in 1988, where he was considered the most likely winner. However, he was beaten by Afanasijs Kuzmins of the Soviet Union (later Latvia) by 598 to 597 in the qualification round, and could not close the gap in the finals as Kuzmins achieved a perfect 100. After this, the targets were changed, lowering results considerably, but Schumann's hegemony has only increased. He won the 1990 World Championships and the 1992 Olympics. He scored 596 points on several occasions before raising the World Record to 597 in 1995, which he equalled in 2000. After the major rule change in 2005, he beat the world record again with 588 points, bettered by Sergei Alifirenko later the same year. He also held the pre-2005 final World Record and the Olympic records (from 1996), excelling in the four-second final shooting.

Being the favourite in every competition he entered, it was natural that his failures to win received some attention. Most notable among these is his performance in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, when at the prospect of winning his third Olympic gold medal (something no RFP shooter before has managed) he only finished fifth. However, his results since then have proved that this was not the beginning of a long-term decline, and in the Athens Olympics in 2004, he finally won his third Olympic gold.

Sponsorships

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Ralf has worked as a precision mechanic during his shooting career, and his employers have sponsored his competitive shooting by offering Ralf a 3-month paid leave of absence each year to train. He also designed a custom .22 caliber pistol which is sold by Italian manufacturer Pardini.[1]

Personal life

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Schumann was born in Meissen in Saxony. He took up pistol shooting in 1977 and was eventually trained at the East German national shooting arena in Suhl, Thuringia. He has on several occasions been voted the athlete of the year in Thuringia. He now lives in nearby Stockheim, Bavaria.[2] His wife, Anke Völker-Schumann is also a shooter; she joined Ralf in competing at the 1988, 1996, and 2000 Olympics.[3]

Olympic results
Event 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
25 metre rapid fire pistol 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver
597+99
1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold
594+195+96
1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold
596+102.0
5th
584+99.3
1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold
592+102.9
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver
579+200.5
16th
577

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Feist, S (2000). "The Ones to Beat", Time Magazine, 81.
  2. ^ Feist, S (2000). "The Ones to Beat", Time Magazine, 81.
  3. ^ "Anke Völker-Schumann". www.sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
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