The 300 m rifle three positions event was one of five free rifle events of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. They were held from August 3 to August 5, 1900. 30 shooters from 6 nations competed, with five shooters per team. Medals were given for individual high scores in each of the three positions, overall individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score. The three positions event was won by Emil Kellenberger of Switzerland. Anders Peter Nielsen of Denmark took silver, while Ole Østmo of Norway and Paul Van Asbroeck of Belgium tied for bronze.

Background

This was the first appearance of the men's 300 metre three-positions rifle event, which was held 11 times between 1900 and 1972.The event was open to women in 1968 and 1972. Two of the three world champions since the world championships began in 1897 were competing: Achille Paroche of France (1898) and Lars Jørgen Madsen of Denmark (1899); of the total nine medalists to date, seven competed at the Olympics. The Olympic event doubled as the 1900 world championship.

Competition format

The competition had each shooter fire 120 shots, 40 shots in each of three positions: prone, kneeling, and standing. The target was 1 metre in diameter, with 10 scoring rings; targets were set at a distance of 300 metres. Thus, the maximum score possible was 1200 points. Medals were also awarded for team results, adding the individual three-positions scores together. For the only time in Olympic history, medals were awarded for scores in each of the three positions.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

Emil Kellenberger set the initial Olympic record for the 120-shot format at 930 points.

Schedule

Date Time Round Friday, 3 August 1900Saturday, 4 August 1900Sunday, 5 August 1900 Final

Results

The scores from the three positions were summed, giving a total possible of 1200 points.

Rank Shooter Nation Standing Kneeling Prone Total Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank Emil Kellenberger 292 6 314 2 324 5 930 Anders Peter Nielsen 277 11 314 2 330 2 921 Paul Van Asbroeck 297 4 308 4 312 8 917 Ole Østmo 299 2 289 15 329 3 917 5 Lars Jørgen Madsen 305 1 299 8 301 16 905 6 Charles Paumier 298 3 297 9 302 15 897 7 Achille Paroche 268 19 287 16 332 1 887 8 Franz Böckli 294 5 300 7 289 21 883 9 Marcus Ravenswaaij 272 14 306 5 303 14 881 Konrad Stäheli 272 14 324 1 285 23 881 11 Auguste Cavadini 278 10 286 17 316 7 880 Léon Moreaux 269 17 286 17 325 4 880 13 Helmer Hermandsen 280 9 290 13 308 10 878 14 Uilke Vuurman 261 22 303 6 312 8 876 15 Viggo Jensen 277 11 290 13 308 10 875 16 Louis Richardet 269 17 297 9 307 12 873 17 Tom Seeberg 275 13 272 21 301 16 848 18 Henrik Sillem 249 25 281 19 317 6 847 19 Alfred Grütter 282 7 265 25 285 23 832 20 Ole Sæther 239 26 293 12 298 18 830 21 Maurice Lecoq 268 19 271 22 284 25 823 22 Jules Bury 282 7 269 24 270 28 821 23 Edouard Myin 265 21 249 29 304 13 818 24 Olaf Frydenlund 271 16 259 27 287 22 817 25 Antonius Bouwens 238 28 296 11 278 26 812 26 René Thomas 254 24 259 27 295 19 808 27 Solko van den Bergh 239 26 274 20 292 20 805 28 Laurids Jensen-Kjær 238 28 271 22 273 27 782 Axel Kristensen 261 22 260 26 261 30 782 30 Joseph Baras 233 30 210 30 270 28 713

References

International Olympic Committee medal winners database De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Shooting 1900". Accessed 3 March 2006. Available electronically at .