International Rifle events that occur in three positions are conducted with an equal number of shots fired from the Prone, the Standing and the Kneeling positions, always in that order. Each of the three positions shot during the match has a fixed time limit that the shooter is able to shoot unlimited numbers of sighting shots and 10 or 20 shots for record. In qualification rounds, shots are scored as integers, so each shot scores from 0-10 with no decimal points, while in finals shots are scred as decimal values The center of the bullseye is commonly the 10 and the score drops points as it distances from the center. It is up to the organization's discretion to score using outside ring or inside ring scoring. Outside ring scoring measures what ring the hole breaks and measures accordingly. Inside ring scoring scores by determining whether the hole breaks the inside line of the bullseye.
The men's 50 metre rifle three positions competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on 22 August at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
The women's 50 metre rifle three positions competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 20 at the Markópoulo Olympic Shooting Centre near Athens, Greece.
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. Paul Van Asbroeck of Belgium took silver, while Ole Østmo of Norway earned bronze.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was one of 15 events on the shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Saturday, 11 July 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 shooters. Fifty-one sport shooters from ten nations competed. The event was won by Albert Helgerud of Norway, the nation's first victory in the event. Norway also won bronze, with Ole Sæther finishing third. Between the two Norwegians was Harry Simon, taking silver in the United States' debut.
The men's team free rifle at 300 metres was one of 15 events on the shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Thursday, 9 July 1908 and was extended after sunset to Friday, 10 July 1908 — it was the first shooting event of the Games. Fifty-four sport shooters from nine nations competed.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event, which had been introduced in 1900. The competition was held on Tuesday, 2 July 1912. Eighty-four sport shooters from nine nations competed. The event was won by Paul Colas of France, the nation's first medal in the event. Denmark took the silver and bronze medals, as Lars Jørgen Madsen finished second and Niels Larsen placed third.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting programs at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the 300 metre rifle three positions event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 31 July 1920, with 70 shooters from 14 nations competing. The event was won by Morris Fisher of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event. Niels Larsen of Denmark earned silver, while Østen Østensen of Norway took bronze.
The Men's 50 metre rifle three positions event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 17 at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall, the last shooting event of the Beijing Olympics.
The Women's 50 metre rifle three positions event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 14 at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall.
300 m rifle three positions is an ISSF shooting event, involving shooting 40 shots each from the prone, the standing and the kneeling positions. Lately a similar event has been designed for women, where only half the course is shot.
These are the results of the 50 metre rifle three positions at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The gold medal went to John Writer of the United States, who was the silver medalist in 1968. He went on and broke the world record with a score of 1166 points. The silver medalist was also from the United States, Lanny Bassham, who got off to a poor start, but recovered well enough to claim silver. Bassham returned 4 years later to claim gold in the same event.
The men's 50 metre rifle three positions event at the 2012 Olympic Games took place on 6 August 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
The Women's 50 metre rifle three positions event at the 2012 Olympic Games took place on 4 August 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1948 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 5 and 6 August 1948, with 36 shooters from 13 nations competing. Each nation was limited to three shooters. The event was won by Emil Grünig of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the event since 1900 and second overall. Silver went to Pauli Janhonen of Finland and bronze to Willy Røgeberg of Norway.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 27 July 1952, with 32 shooters from 18 nations competing. Each nation was limited to two shooters. The event was won by Anatoli Bogdanov with Lev Vainshtein in third, as the Soviet Union took both gold and bronze in its debut. Between the Soviets was Robert Bürchler of Switzerland, earning silver.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1956 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 1 December 1956, with 20 shooters from 14 nations competing. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Vasily Borisov of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in two appearances. The Soviets finished 1–2, with Allan Erdman taking silver. Vilho Ylönen of Finland earned the bronze.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1960 Summer Olympics programme. It was the eighth appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 3 and 5 September 1960, with 39 shooters from 22 nations competing. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Hubert Hammerer in Austria's debut in the event. Hans Rudolf Spillmann of Switzerland took silver. Soviet Vasily Borisov was the second man to win two medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 1956 gold.
The men's 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was the ninth appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 15 October 1964, with 30 shooters from 18 nations competing. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Gary Anderson of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1920 and second overall. Both Americans made the podium, as Martin Gunnarsson took bronze. Shota Kveliashvili of the Soviet Union earned silver, extending the nation's podium streak to four Games.
The mixed 300 m rifle three positions was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1968 Summer Olympics programme. It was the 10th appearance of the event at an Olympic Games. The competition was held on 23 October 1968, with 30 shooters from 16 nations competing. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Gary Anderson of the United States, the only person to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. It was the United States' third gold medal in the event, most of any nation. Valentin Kornev extended the Soviet Union's podium streak in the event to five Games with his silver. Swiss shooter Kurt Müller took bronze.
