Ralf Schumann (born 10 June 1962) is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 25 meter rapid fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is shot with .22 LR pistols. The event has been a part of the Olympic program ever since the beginning in 1896, although its rules changed greatly before World War II, after wh ...

) 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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

His international breakthrough came in the years before the

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in 1988, where he was considered the most likely winner. However, he was beaten by

Afanasijs Kuzmins Afanasijs Kuzmins (born 22 March 1947) is a Latvian shooter who won two Olympic medals in the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event; gold at the 1988 for the USSR and silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics for Latvia. He also won the 1986 World Championsh ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(later

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) 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 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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

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.

Personal life

Schumann was born in

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. He took up pistol shooting in 1977 and was eventually trained at the

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

national shooting arena in

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. He has on several occasions been voted the athlete of the year in Thuringia. He now lives in nearby Stockheim,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. His wife, Anke Völker-Schumann is also a shooter; she joined Ralf in competing at the 1988, 1996, and 2000 Olympics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schumann, Ralf 1962 births Living people German male sport shooters Olympic shooters for Germany Olympic shooters for East Germany East German male sport shooters ISSF pistol shooters Sportspeople from Meissen Shooters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Olympic medalists in shooting Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Career

Sponsorships

Personal life

See also

References

External links