olympic sport that requires $10,000 in "Gear"... air rifle

[Demovictory9]

apparently, people can't compete at this level without the expensive "shooting coat" that helps the shooter to steady their body and heart rate... off the shelf coat costs $700... the competitors may be wearing coats made for them..which would be much pricier... then there are shooting shoes, the head and eye gear, gloves and the rifle with its attachements. Pricey sport.

https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-ee25fd742d33374bbb8915a0a1216aa5





Olympic air rifles turning heads with futuristic looks

Admit it: Hearing about air rifle at the Olympics conjures up images of athletes firing wooden-stocked, pump-action BB guns at ominous cowboys and targets that spin when hit.

Far from it.

The guns used in the air rifle events at the Tokyo Olympics are the most precise implements at the Games, elaborately designed hardware firing wadcutter pellets within millimeters of a target 10 meters away.

Forget Red Ryder. Think Call of Duty.

“Really, what they are is just air rifles that are a regular 1.77-caliber that shoot lead pellets with compressed air,” USA Shooting national rifle coach Dan Durben said. “It’s just that everything else around it looks a lot fancier.”

Olympic air rifles were once standard issue, each one essentially the same down the line at the range. The issue back then was that while the rifles fit a certain shooter body type, everyone else had to adapt.

The rules were changed to level the playing field and shooters have since turned their rifles into erector sets, attaching risers, weights, extenders and apertures to the main components to shoot pellets with laser-like precision.

[Demovictory9]

1. spoilers...Olympic results for air rifle from 2 days ago...don't click on if don't want see results

scroll below to see the olympians with their fancy "gear"

&t=136s

&t=57s

[Jim G.]

2. I Would Imagine The Equipment For The Equestrian Events Is Even More Pricey

[Demovictory9]

3. oohh.. you are right! horse, saddle, fancy riding outfit, feeding, housing care of horse

transportation for horse

[Jim G.]

6. I'm Sure These Olympians Work Their Way Up To A $10,000 Rifle As Well

Just like the bike riders work their way up to a $20,000 bike.

I don't imagine training for any of these events is inexpensive for a world class athlete either. I know how expensive tennis was for my boys just on a local level.

[Straw Man]

17. An entry level rifle is about $500 ...

https://www.daisy.com/product/daisy-model-753w-elite-competition-rifle/

... but you can get a used one for a little over $100:

https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/DaisyUsedRifles.pdf

[Effete Snob]

4. But if you point it at an Olympic cyclist...

…you can get a $20,000 bike.

[Devil Child]

12. I laughed

Thanks Effete Snob

[Demovictory9]

19. Omg..is that how much the bikes cost ?

[Effete Snob]

21. And you need more than one

You need at least one spare road bike and you also need a time trial bike (for the road time trial event, and maybe a spare for that).

You know that fiddly bit that hangs below the rear gears and moves the chain back and forth to change gears - not the whole derailleur assembly, just the little figure-8 thing with the two little wheels in it?

Here's one for $1700:

https://www.keswickcycle.com/product/ceramicspeed-3d-printed-ti-ospw-system-for-sram-etap-389380-1.htm



Now you *can* get away with the $500 one, if you want...

[Demovictory9]

24. Never had a bike with gears so never paid attn to the mechanics

Of it all. Now i understand why san frans are always getting their bikes stolen

[Effete Snob]

28. Typical high-end amateur gear is in the $12K-15K range

Here's a nice model that is the downmarket version of a Tour de France winning bicycle:

https://www.pulseendurance.com/products/dogma-f12-sram

That's without pedals, for $12,500.

Now, if you are serious, you are going to put in a double-sided power-meter crankset for about $1500, and a GPS head unit for $500.

You ready to buy some shoes and clothing now?

[Earth-shine]

5. Next upgrade, eliminate the person.

It already looks like a robotic device.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. You'll shoot your eye out, kid. nt

[Owl]

8. Seems like cheating with the attached rifle rests?

[MineralMan]

14. Those aren't rifle rests. They are counterbalance

systems. They are weighted downward extensions that help stabilize the rifle while shooting from the standing position.

[quickesst]

9. My own opinion

Without the velocity needed, and the ability to fine-tune the sight on the rifle, there can't be a real test of the shooter's ability. If it were as simple as going to Walmart and buying a daisy rifle, hell, I might qualify in the first round, but with the unpredictability, I might just as easily fall completely out of the running. Even 10 or 20 years ago who knew there could be so much room for improvement concerning an air rifle. Could a computerized machine outperform the best human Marksman? Probably, but then, what would be the point?

[bullwinkle428]

10. As a cyclist, I can tell you the bikes used to compete in the road races

and time trials, along with the mountain bikes, cost well north of $10,000!

[obamanut2012]

16. Yup, I know people who own 17K bikes

They are not pro cyclists, either.

Mine is a $850 Trek, and people think THAT is expensive -- they have no idea!

[ProfessorGAC]

27. A Guy That Worked For Me...

...back in the day had a bike that cost $7k.
This was in the early 90s.
He bought a set of those kevlar wheels. $300 a piece.
I only paid $350 for my whole bike! And I still have it.

[Effete Snob]

34. That's probably your regular road bike

Naturally, you also have a time trial bike, a gravel bike, a cyclocross bike and a mountain bike.

[kairos12]

11. And then there's this guy--Abebe Bikila

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abebe_Bikila

He wins the marathon in 1960. Barefoot.

[oasis]

22. ...

[Devil Child]

13. Looks fun, air rifle shooting is quite relaxing

[lagomorph777]

15. But is it any better than Ralphie's Red Ryder?

Couldn't they put somebody's eye out with that thing?

[Demovictory9]

25. Supposedly the.basic rifle isnt that different

Its all the fancy accessories

[Straw Man]

31. Not exactly.

A low-end and a high-end rifle operate on the same principle, but there is a VAST difference in the quality of the components, especially the barrel.

[Happy Hoosier]

18. Not much different than a lot of sports.

Bicycling, skiing, archery.... the list goes on. Highly specialized equipment costs a fortune.

[Demovictory9]

20. I wonder if kids from low income backgrounds compete

Can high schools provide equipment or is it "have a rich parent or you dont compete?

[Effete Snob]

23. I'll stick to cycling for a moment

Cycling requires an uncommon level of endurance, ability to pace effort, and a high VO2max.

A lot like long distance running.

Long distance running is dominated by East Africans, whose countries put a lot of effort into finding and developing running talent. Incidentally, it is not that East Africans are somehow inherently "better" at long distance running (or that Jamaicans, to a degree not duplicated elsewhere are born better sprinters) - it really is a matter of what get emphasized as a sport worth pursuing and developing talent as a national priority.

A really good article about the subject is, "Usain Bolt and why Jamaican sprinters are so fast"

"So why does Jamaica, an island nation of 2.7m, produce athletes that so handily trounce those from the US, a far richer country with a population of around 320m?

For Bolt, it’s the island’s unique sporting culture. Sprinters, rather than footballers, are the nation’s superstars; the annual schools athletics competition, called “Champs”, is played to packed stadiums and televised. The times set by these juniors can trump those of national champions in most other countries."

That was the entire point of the "Jamaican Bobsled Team" - a good chunk of the winning edge in bobsled is a sprint start.

Long distance running is, of course, also a third of the triathlon.

So why don't you see a lot of East African cyclists and triathletes, since there is a transferable physiological and skill profile?

Now, to be fair, there is an effort to develop East African cyclists, and it is paying off with a number of riders from Eritrea and Ethiopia appearing regularly in top events, but nothing like running. But, at the end of the day, it's really hard to take an older athlete and develop solid bike handling skills that, in a lot of other countries, are learned at a very early age.

Learning to ride a bike, in a lot of the world, is not something that is taken for granted as an unexceptional part of childhood.

[Demovictory9]

32. "it's really hard to take an older athlete and develop solid bike handling skills that"

i think the same with swimming. gotta have access to that pool when young. when I took private swim lessons as an older teen... two young kids were being taught competitive swimming by the same teacher... they were learning the butterfly stroke and other strokes that i would never learn.

[Happy Hoosier]

26. Sometimes, yes, sometimes no.

I knew a guy who was a bit of an archery prodigy, but from a very poor family.

Our high school had an archery club that loaned him equipment, but the pricey stuff was out of reach really.

He was good enough that he caught the attention of a local club who sponsored him.

But how many poor kids get involved with serious gymnastics? Or swimming? Or whatever?

Training, club sports, etc., are EXPENSIVE. Some have scholarship programs, but many do not.

[Jim G.]

29. I'm Sure Having Well Off Parents Is A Bit A Head Start...

But if someone can perform at a high enough level at nearly anything, once word gets out others who can profit from them will be there to help.

[Poiuyt]

30. I got to get me some shootin shoes!

No wonder I'm such a bad shot.

[Sgent]

33. Sailing is expensive as well

the venue provides the boats in all but one event, but the sailors can (and do) bring their own sails. A new set for even a one man dinghy is probably at least 3k (there are rules so they don't go America's Cup on materials, etc.), and they would need a new set for every serious race.

For the keelboat class they can bring their own boats (which are 60K+), and some teams bring multiple boats depending on the wind. The campaign is often paid for by the national association, but not always. I know of a team that self funded over 1.5million for the Beijing Olympics.