Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 metre pistol
The men's ISSF 50 meter pistol event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 12 at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall. There were 45 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Jin Jong-oh of South Korea, the first of his three consecutive victories in the free pistol. It was his second medal, after taking silver in 2004; he was the 10th man to win multiple medals in the event.
Jin Jong-oh (2012)
50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. It is considered to provide some of the purest precision shooting among the pistol events. The target of this event has not changed since 1900, and the 50m distance has remained the standard since 1912. The sport traced back to the beginning of indoor Flobert pistol parlour shooting in Europe during the 1870s.
ISSF 50 meter pistol
Alfred Lane at the 1912 Olympics
Alexander Melentyev, the 1980 Olympic Champion and Current Olympic record holder
Jin Jong-oh, the only triple (2008, 2012, 2016) and the last Olympic Champion and Current World Record holder