Learn › Track 06 · Competing
Tie-breaks
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, three women finished qualification on 577, right at the cut for the final. Only eight go through, and in whole-ring scoring ties like this happen. Something other than the total has to decide.
Think first: Two shooters both finish on 577. What do you think decides first who ranks higher?
- The number of inner tens
- The better last series
- A one-shot shoot-off
- Whoever finished the match first
The order
The rule is a ladder. You only go down a step if the one above is still level.
- Most inner tens.
- Last 10-shot series, then the one before it, back to the first (whole rings).
- Shot by shot from the last shot backwards, in whole rings, where an inner ten beats a plain 10.
- Decimal values shot by shot, again from the last shot backwards.
- Still tied: the same rank, listed alphabetically by family name.
Qualification ties: (1) most inner tens; (2) last 10-shot series, then backwards; (3) shot by shot from the last, inner ten beating 10; (4) decimals shot by shot from the last; (5) same rank, alphabetical by family name.
Notice the direction. Steps 2 to 4 all start at the end of the match and work backwards. In a tie, a strong finish counts before a strong start.
Think first: Same total, same inner tens. Adler’s series: 96 95 97 94 96 99. Brandt’s: 97 96 95 97 96 96. Who ranks higher?
- Adler: the last series is 99 against 96
- Brandt: better in three of the six series
- Brandt: the better first series
- Still tied: go to shot by shot
Step through it
Each preset below gives two cards tied on 570, but decided at a different step. Press through the ladder and watch where it stops. The deciding series or shot is highlighted on the cards.
Inner ten against plain 10
Step 3 is the one that catches people out. It compares whole rings, so a 10.3 and a 10.6 look equal — except that an inner ten counts above a plain 10. A pellet is an inner ten when its centre is within 4.75 mm of the middle: the 2.5 mm radius of the inner-ten circle plus half the 4.5 mm pellet.
Think first: Everything is level down to step 3. On shot 60, Adler has a 10.3 and Brandt a 10.5. Who ranks higher?
- Adler
- Brandt: a 10.5 is an inner ten, which beats a plain 10
- Still tied at step 3; decided at step 4 on decimals
- Still tied: the same rank
Step 4 only matters when two cards match ring for ring and inner ten for inner ten. Then the decimals, which qualification otherwise ignores, finally count.
Ties in finals
Finals work differently. They are scored in decimals, and a tie at an elimination is broken by single shoot-off shots rather than by this ladder. Ties in the mixed team final also go to a shoot-off. See the final for the full format.
- Qualification ties: inner tens first.
- Then series from the last one backwards, then shots from the last one backwards.
- At the shot-by-shot step an inner ten beats a plain 10.
- Decimals come next; if still tied, same rank, alphabetical by family name.
- Elimination ties in finals go to single shoot-off shots.