This was the last Olympic competition before the major rule changes that took place on 1 January 2005, and which lowered the results of the event.

[2] Germany's world number one shooter Ralf Schumann produced the highest final round ever with 102.9 to easily get the best aggregate score of 694.9 and his third Olympic gold medal in rapid fire pistol shooting, becoming the first in the event's history to do so.

Indeed, Schumann personally matched the success of the next-best nation, the United States, at three golds and a silver.

[7] The post-World War II event substantially altered the competition once again.

Schumann had finished second at the 2002 world championships to his countryman Marco Spangenberg, but was still favored in Athens.

To compete, a shooter needed a quota spot and to achieve a Minimum Qualification Score (MQS).

The 1992 competition had introduced round targets rather than the silhouettes used from 1948 to 1988 as well as many pre-World War II versions of the event.