“I hold the same rifle and aim at the same target whether in Paris or New Delhi!” smiles Audrey Gogniat

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games 10m air rifle bronze medallist from Switzerland will be taking part to the New Delhi 2024 FISU World University Championship shooting sport from 9 to 13 November.

250 student-athletes from 23 countries have travelled to “incredible India” to compete over the next five days in the New Delhi. Shooting sport has been a FISU sport since 2003, when the first FISU World University Championship shooting sport took place in Pilsen, Czechia.

At the New Delhi 2024 FISU World University Championship shooting sport, there will compete in the following disciplines:

• 10m air pistol men and women
• 10m air pistol mixed team
• 50m rifle 3 positions men and women
• Trap men and women
• 10m air rifle men and women
• 10m air rifle mixed team
• 25m pistol women
• Skeet men and women
• Skeet mixed team
• 25m rapid fire pistol men

You can find the programme of the competitions . Please note that the times are GMT+ 5h30.

A pretty special competitor

Before the beginning of the competition, we caught up with Audrey Gogniat, a really level-headed and enthusiastic student-athlete from the Jura region in Switzerland who happens to have won the bronze medal in the 10m air rifle event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games! She remains incredibly modest about this huge achievement, saying it is “pretty cool”. The 22-year-old who now studies at the University of Mississippi (OleMiss) is looking forward to competing in New Delhi, simply because she loves shooting and knows how important her sport is in India.

-Audrey, what brought you to shooting?
-I simply followed my Dad (Roland, picture) every weekend to his own shooting competitions. And of course I soon wanted to try for myself. Let’s say it wasn’t love at first sight, but I tried and tried again and ended up really liking this sport. I realised I was pretty good at it just before 2018, when I took part to the Swiss Championships in the junior category in prone position. It was a pretty small competition but I had a lot of fun and I ended up winning it! This of course made me want to carry on.

-How did you chose your speciality?
-I wouldn’t say it was exactly me who chose the 10m air rifle category. As far as the gun is concerned, I simply picked the same one as my father. And I believe that it was the 10 meters distance that chose me rather than the other way round (she laughs). It simply is the distance I am best at and that I enjoy the most.

-When your sport started to take up more and more of your time, did you ever think of dropping your studies?
-In 2021, I started my environmental studies at the University of Neuchâtel. It was tough to juggle this dual career, especially since I didn’t really enjoy my courses. During the second semester, so in April 2022 I joined the Swiss Army and this gave me time to really think about what I wanted to do with my life. I put my studies on standby during a year as I wanted to change direction, but in 2023 shooting was going really really well and I didn’t want to stop my progression. I decided to concentrate on my sport up to the Paris Olympic Games and to go back to studying afterwards.
Now my life has changed entirely since I have moved to the United States. I now live in Oxford, Mississippi and I am managing to both study and train. At the moment I am studying English and philosophy, but then I will follow up with physiotherapy, nutrition and recreational administration, so how to organise an event, look for sponsors etc. So as you can see, I am studying for a career in… sport!

-You are now embarking on a true dual career. How tough is it?
-Let’s say that here in the USA, it is much easier. I train in the morning with the whole team and I study in the afternoon. This has given me an interesting framework and has helped my personal organisation. Of course, studying in English requires a lot of time and effort for me. But this way I can really focus on shooting in the morning and on studying in the afternoon. And then I must also make the most of my spare time.

-A fantastic bronze medal at the Olympics, moving to the United States, everything has changed dramatically in your life, right?
-Exactly! In the blink of an eye I went from A to Z (she laughs). Winning a medal at the Olympic Games is a great pleasure, a reward for all the efforts I have put into training. It is like the tip of the iceberg, the only thing people see. It’s pretty incredible and really cool that I have managed to achieve this, making my dream come true. Yup, it’s pretty cool. And now I am really pleased with my decision to move across the Atlantic. I feel I am exactly where I need to be!

-Have you got clear plans for the future, as much for your career as a woman and as an athlete?
-Before I started shooting at a high level, I would have answered that I wanted to become a vet, that I would study in Bern in German. And now everything has changed. Shooting took my life over and I am loving it. Life is full of surprises and I am excited for the next one to come!

-After the Paris Olympics, you will be competing in the New Delhi 2024 FISU World University Championship Shooting Sport. Two different worlds?
-Not at all! I see many similarities. I approach them both as important shooting competitions. I hold the same rifle and aim at the same target. Even my opponents are often the same ones. The way I see things is that it is only the country and the location that are different.

-India is an important country in the world of shooting sport…
-Very! For example the brand Capapie (special shooting jackets, trousers, gloves etc) comes from India. This country has a long tradition in shooting sport and there are many great Indian athletes who usually win lots of medals, except for this time in Paris, strangely enough!

You can find out more about the New Delhi 2024 FISU World University Championship shooting sport on the event’s . Good luck to all competitors in India!

Written by Thérèse Courvoisier, pictures courtesy of Audrey Gogniat