Shooting Is One Of The Biggest
Published Tuesday 17 July 2012 17:56 by Craig Davies
With just 10 days to go until the opening ceremony of London 2012, the entry numbers have confirmed that Shooting is among the top four biggest sports to participate at this year's Olympics.
A massive total of 390 shooters from 108 countries will participate in the 2012 Olympic Games meaning the sport is one of the most universal.
The likes of Athletics, Swimming and Judo join Shooting in the top four, and that is some feat for a sport that many in the United Kingdom see as one of the 'smaller' ones.
Phil Scanlan, team leader of the Great Britain shooting team acknowledges that the sport is not as popular as it could be throughout the United Kingdom, but knows the legacy of the games will create a huge interest in the sport.
"In this country, it is not as big as it could be,” he said. “It is quite a big participant sport, but worldwide it is massive!
"I truly think that having the Olympic games on home soil will have a hugely positive impact on participation in the sport, and that excites me for what's to come in the future."
Never before in the Games history, since the very first edition in 1896 when Shooting was included in the Olympic program, has the sport recorded such a high number of participating nations.
In 2004, 106 nations had participated in shooting, while in 2008, shooters form 103 countries registered for the Games.
Charlotte Kerwood is the Team GB's top Trap shooter and she thinks it's fantastic news that the sport is growing in numbers.
She said: "It's amazing news!
"I think it's great that more and more people are getting involved worldwide, and hopefully the games will give some publicity to shooting in the UK.
"I know first hand what a great sport it is to be involved in and I love that more people are participating."
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