Ralf Schumann

Personal information
Nationality	Germany
Born	(1962-06-10) 10 June 1962 (age 61) Meissen, East Germany
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
Sport	Shooting
Event	25 metre rapid fire pistol
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 2 - World Championships 4 1 2 World Cup Final 13 2 3 European Championships 7 2 1 Total 27 7 6 Summer Olympics Men's shooting Representing  Germany 1992 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol 1996 Atlanta 25 m rapid fire pistol 2004 Athens 25 m rapid fire pistol 2008 Beijing 25 m rapid fire pistol Representing  East Germany 1988 Seoul 25 m rapid fire pistol World Championships 1990 Moscow 25 m rapid fire pistol 1998 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol 1998 Barcelona 25 m rapid fire pistol team 2002 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol team 2002 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol 1986 Suhl 25 m rapid fire pistol 1994 Milan 25 m rapid fire pistol World Cup Final 1989 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1990 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1991 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1992 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1993 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1994 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1995 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1996 Lugano 25 m rapid fire pistol 1999 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 2000 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 2002 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 2004 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol 2007 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol 2003 Milan 25 m rapid fire pistol 2006 Granada 25 m rapid fire pistol 1998 Zurich 25 m rapid fire pistol 2005 Munich 25 m rapid fire pistol 2008 Bangkok 25 m rapid fire pistol European Championships 1987 Lahti 25 m rapid fire pistol 1989 Zagreb 25 m rapid fire pistol 1991 Bologna 25 m rapid fire pistol 1993 Brno 25 m rapid fire pistol 1995 Zurich 25 m rapid fire pistol 1999 Bordeaux 25 m rapid fire pistol 2003 Plzen 25 m rapid fire pistol 1985 Osijek 25 m rapid fire pistol 2001 Zagreb 25 m rapid fire pistol 1997 Kouvola 25 m rapid fire pistol

Ralf Schumann (born 10 June 1962) is a former German 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) 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, 1996 and 2004 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 in 1988, where he was considered the most likely winner. However, he was beaten by Afanasijs Kuzmins of the Soviet Union (later Latvia) 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 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.^[1]

Personal life

Schumann was born in Meissen in Saxony. He took up pistol shooting in 1977 and was eventually trained at the East German national shooting arena in Suhl, Thuringia. He has on several occasions been voted the athlete of the year in Thuringia. He now lives in nearby Stockheim, Bavaria.^[2] His wife, Anke Völker-Schumann is also a shooter; she joined Ralf in competing at the 1988, 1996, and 2000 Olympics.^[3]

Olympic results
Event	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012
25 metre rapid fire pistol	Silver 597+99	Gold 594+195+96	Gold 596+102.0	5th 584+99.3	Gold 592+102.9	Silver 579+200.5	16th 577