The Georgian shooter qualified for the European Games and will compete in the Olympics once more, just like she did in Seoul 1988. She trained in a garage, made a vow to her father, and hoped that if she succeeded, everyone would learn about her small paradise nation.

Nino Salukvadze hinted that her historic Olympic presence in the Japanese capital was coming to an end in Tokyo, where she was competing in her ninth straight game. The sports shooting legend, though, goes farther.

At the European Games in Wroclaw, Poland, 54 year old Salukvadze ensured Georgia’s spot in Paris 2024 by placing fourth in the 25-meter pistol competition.  The shooter took the position since Greece, Bulgaria, and Germany already had their spots reserved for the upcoming Games, trailing Anna Korakaki, Antoaneta Kostadinova, and Doreen Vennekamp.

Salukvadze will achieve a record now held solely by Ian Millar, who represented Canada in the show jumping event from Munich 1972 to London 2012 (he was absent from Moscow in 1980 as a result of the boycott), by becoming the first lady in Paris to compete in 10 straight Olympic Games.

Salukvadze was born in Tbilisi on February 1st, 1969, and competed in her first Olympics in Seoul in 1988, taking home gold for the Soviet Union in the 25-meter pistol and silver in the 10-meter air pistol.

Twenty years later, in Beijing 2008, the third Olympic medal was won by finishing on the podium in the 10-meter air pistol final, which left one of the most memorable pictures of the Games that were hosted in China.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Salukvadze already represented Georgia, which was at war with Natalia Paderina’s Russia in the test’s definition and was awarded the silver medal.

Salukvadze and Paderina shared an embrace on the podium after the competition, sending a message of peace to the entire globe.  We are in the twenty-first century.  The Georgian said at the time, “We shouldn’t descend to fighting each other.”

Salukvadze was a six-time world champion and a four-time European champion in addition to her three Olympic medals.  However, Georgia’s issues following the disintegration of the former USSR coexisted with her sporting accomplishments.

In an interview with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games website, the shooter recalled that, while the power was not out, she was practicing in the training camp that had gathered in his garage. “There was nothing left, all the towns were looted and demolished,” she said.

“After that, I would go to competitions and win.” Salukvadze, the flag bearer for the Georgian delegation at the 2012 London Olympics and the most recent ones in Tokyo, described it as a paradox.

With eight successive Games in Rio 2016, Salukvadze tied the Italian-German canoeist Josefa Idem-Guerrini for the record. In Brazil, Nino and Tsotne Machavariani made Olympic history by being the first mother-son team to compete together.

In particular, Tsotne and Salukvadze’s father Vakhtang persuaded her to expand the narrative in Paris 2024. “He told me, ‘Nino, I thought you were a smart girl. You only have to wait three years after Tokyo, why don’t you try to go to the next Olympics? It will be a record 10 Olympic Games.” On the guidance of her 92-year-old father, who served as her coach for the majority of her career, inspired her once again. She said, “He’s my hero, and I promised him I’d try.”

Salukvadze explained in an interview with Olympics: “it’s not important to me, it’s important to my country. Georgia is really small and 80% of the world population does not know where it is. So maybe if I achieve this, they will know about my little paradise country,”. The tenth Game is already a reality.

Nino Salukvadze achieved history by being the first woman to compete in nine Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020. She competes in the Olympic shooting sport and hasn’t missed an event since making her debut in Seoul in 1988.

She achieved her best Games performance there, winning gold in the 25-meter pistol and silver in the 10-meter air pistol events at the age of just 19.  The gunman that day was an agent of the Soviet Union.

By carrying the Georgian flag in both the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies, the shooter has established herself as a national hero.

Her participation in this event came to an end in the 10-meter air pistol division, where she came in 31st.

According to statements collected by The Guardian, Salukvadze said at the time: “We live in the 21st century, after all. We shouldn’t stoop so low to wage wars against each other.”

Salukvadze can be considered a modern icon for many women in Olympic shooting, and an inspiration for many young girls aspiring Olympic shooting for their future.