EXPLAINED: How 50m rifle 3position event, where Swapnil Kusale won bronze at Paris Olympics, works

India claimed their third medal at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, this one too coming from the shooting ranges at Chateauroux. Swapnil Kusale won a bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3position event.

The 50m rifle 3position event is known as the marathon of shooting. In the 50m rifle 3position event, unlike most other shooting events, a competitor takes aim in three different positions — kneeling, prone and standing. Each position requires tweaks to their weapon and attire.

India’s Swapnil Kusale competes in the 50m rifle 3 positions men’s event at the Paris Olympics 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (AP Photo)

How does the 50m rifle 3position event work? We explain:

The 50m rifle 3P event used to be 120 shots, across three positions of kneeling, prone and standing over two hours and 45 minutes. Now, the event has been reduced to 60 shots per shooter, 20 in each position. The shooter has to hit these 60 shots in 90 minutes now.

As athletes go from one position to another, they have changeover windows where they have to adjust their stiff leather-made jackets and their very precise equipment.

The reduction in time has meant that there is a reduction in changeover times for the shooters as well.

“Athletes now have to practice transitioning from one position to another in a set time. Earlier more time used to be given to change your gear between the three events. Now, athletes have to change 10 different moving parts for one event, and then make six new changes for another event. All this while, they’ve to keep their heartbeat steady. It’s like asking Usain Bolt to run a sub-10 second 100m sprint but with a low heart rate,” Joydeep Karmakar, who finished fourth at the event in the 2012 London Olympics, had once told The Indian Express.

Anjum Moudgil, who is competing at the Paris Olympics, had once detailed the things she does in a changeover from kneeling to prone position to The Indian Express.

It starts with the heavy shooting jacket and trouser, all strapped onto her at different levels of settings, having to be removed. Then she has to pick her rifle up, and place it on a table. From there, she has to take out and keep aside all her ammunition as well as the rifle stand from her box. She then begins to adjust her rifle settings, starting with the butt of the rifle, and then the cheek positions. The sights are then changed, specifically for prone and then she tinkers with the setting of her rifle here and there until the perfect combination clicks are reached.

The prepped weapon is then kept back on the table, the shooting jacket is then put on and Anjum moves to her shooting lane and takes position. There she has to take anywhere between five to 15 shots to test the settings of her weapon. She has to do all of this while maintaining the same level of breathing. This process has been meticulously written down in her diary. It has been achieved after continuous hours spent on ranges in India and then perfected over tournaments across the world. Ask her how many adjustments she has to make to her rifle and pat comes the reply, ‘six’.

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