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890 athletes coming from 86 countries will compete in the 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Stage which kicked off today at the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich, through the 23rd of June.

A record number of 1482 starts (with athletes competing in multiple events), makes of this competition the biggest ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Stage ever.

Athletes from all around the world will compete in the 10 Olympic events of Rifle and Pistol shooting, aiming at the 24 Olympic Quota Places to be awarded here. This is indeed one of the last chances to qualify for the 2012 London Games, before the continental championships.

The first medal matches, the 10m Air Rifle Men and Women finals, will take place tomorrow afternoon, starting from 2 PM (German time, GMT+1)

“Numbers are incredible!” The ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber said, commenting on the turnout of athletes of the fourth and last Rifle and Pistol World Cup Stage of the year.

“Munich’s is a big range, one of the best shooting sport venue of the world, but even here we are on the edge. It’s the first time that we record such a high participation in a world cup stage, since the series was launched in 1986.” Mr. Schreiber added.

The 2011 ISSF World Cup Series travelled from Sydney (AUS) to Changwon (KOR), passing through Fort Benning (USA) before landing here in Munich, where the last Rifle and Pistol Stage is conducted. The ISSF World Cup Series will then be closed in September, with the Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final taking place in Wroclaw, Poland.

Almost 900 Rifle & Pistol athletes will be competing in Munich from the 16 through the 23 of June

“Numbers are incredible!” The ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber said about the entries recorded for the 2011 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Munich, which is going to kick off the next 16^th of June.

884 athletes coming from 85 nations have already registered to take part in the competition, for a total 1485 starts.

The competition, which will be conducted on the lines of the lines of the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich from the 16 through the 23 of June, is going to become a milestone on the qualification path to the 2012 London Games: a total of 24 Olympic Quota Places will indeed be awarded in the 10 rifle and pistol events.

“Munich’s is one of the largest venues of the world. But the numbers of this world cup are still impressive” Mr. Schreiber said.

“It’s a record, no doubt about it. Never before, a Rifle & Pistol World Cup Stage registered this participation”.

The 2011 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup Final has been rescheduled in Wroclaw, Poland.

The 2011 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final will take place in Wroclaw, Poland, from the 18th to the 24th of September.

The best Rifle and Pistol Shooters of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series, the title defenders of last year’s Finals and the 2010 World Champions – about 100 shooters form all around the world – will meet on the lines of the well-known shooting range of Wroclaw, shooting-off for the 2011 World Cup Final titles.

“It is a very great honor to have an opportunity to be awarded to organize the ISSF Final World Cup in pistol and rifle events in Poland.” The President of the Polish Shooting Federation, Mr. Tomasz Kwiecien, said to the ISSF.

The 2011 ISSF World Cup Series continues in the United States, with a Rifle and Pistol Stage held in Fort Benning.

More than 600 athletes coming from 70 countries arrived in Fort Benning, GA, USA, to participate in the fifth leg of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series.

Athletes from all around the world will compete in the 10 Olympic events of Rifle and Pistol shooting from the 15th through the 23rd of May, trying to secure one of the 24 Olympic Quota Places – the “entrance tickets” to the next 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The fist medal matches, the 10m Air Rifle Men and the 10m Air Pistol Women, will take place tomorrow afternoon (May the 16th) at 15.15 and at 16.00 (GMT – 4).