Peter Wilson (sport shooter)

Peter Robert Russell Wilson MBE (born 15 September 1986), is a retired English sport shooter who specialises in the double trap. He is the current world record holder for the event, having scored 198 out of 200 at a World Cup event in Arizona during 2012. A member of the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was the youngest competitor in the men's double trap event, where he won the gold medal.[1]

Peter Wilson
MBE
Wilson showing his 2012 Olympic gold medal
Personal information
Full namePeter Robert Russell Wilson
NationalityBritish
Born (1986-09-15) 15 September 1986
Dorchester, Dorset, England
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight90 kg (198 lb)
Sport
Country United Kingdom
SportSport shooting
Event(s)Double trap
Coached byAhmad Mohammad Hasher Al Maktoum
Achievements and titles
National finalsEngland
Highest world ranking1
Personal best(s)198
Medal record
Men's shooting
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
2012 London Double trap
European Championship
2011 Belgrade Team Double trap

Early life

Born in Dorset on 15 September 1986, Wilson took up shooting at his father's suggestion after he suffered nerve damage to his shoulder in a snowboarding accident which left him unable to play squash and cricket.[2]

Education

Wilson was educated at three independent schools: at the pre-prep St. Antony's Leweston Preparatory School in the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, the junior school Hazlegrove Preparatory School in the village of Sparkford, near the town of Yeovil in Somerset, followed by senior school at Millfield School in the town of Street, also in Somerset. He then went to Arts University Bournemouth (formerly Arts Institute at Bournemouth), in the large coastal town of Poole in Dorset, where he studied Graphic Design.

Career

Wilson tried his hand at both skeet and trap but was not enthusiastic enough to train religiously for them. However, after trying double trap he found a discipline that he is happy to train for every day. Wilson was encouraged by Ian Coley after meeting at the Bisley shooting ground. Soon after this he was training with shooters such as Richard Faulds and Stevan Walton.[3]

Within four months of trying shooting at the Bisley Ranges,[2] Wilson became the 2006 European Junior Champion at the tournament in Slovenia.[4]

In 2008 he attended the 2008 Summer Olympics as part of Great Britain's Olympic Ambition Programme to expose possible future Olympians to the Olympic experience.[5] He began being coached by Ahmad Mohammad Hasher Al Maktoum, who is a member of the ruling family of Dubai and the 2004 Summer Olympics gold medallist in the double trap.[2] Following budget cuts by UK Sport following the lack of shooting medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wilson's funding was removed completely and he was required to fund his shooting expenses which amount to nearly £10,000 a year.

Wilson finished in fourth place at the 2011 European Shooting Championships in Belgrade with a score of 191 in the final. However, the British team came second overall, earning Wilson a silver medal alongside Stevan Walton and Richard Faulds.[6] At a World Cup event held in Tucson, Arizona in 2012, Wilson set a new world record for the double trap.[7] He scored 198 out of a possible 200 in the final, beating the previous record of 196.[8] By winning a silver at the World Cup event in Chile in March 2012, he gained another quota spot for the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics.[9]

He is a member of the Southern Counties shooting club.[10] Having warmed up at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich in April in the test event for the Olympic venue,[11] on 28 May, Wilson was named part of the British team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[12] He won gold, scoring 188 out of a possible 200 hits on 2 August 2012.[13] It was Britain's first Olympic shooting medal since teammate Richard Faulds won the event in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[1]

Wilson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to shooting.[14][15]

On 31 October 2014, at the age of 28, Wilson officially announced his retirement from competitive shooting to focus on personal life and coaching, ending abruptly his short, but remarkable career with an Olympic gold medal in men's double trap from London 2012, and three more from the 2013 ISSF World Cup series.[16][17]

See also

References
  1. "Olympics shooting: GB's Peter Wilson wins double trap gold". BBC Sport. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  2. "100 Team GB contenders for London 2012. He won the Olympic gold medal by a 2 shot margin.: Peter Wilson". BBC Sport. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  3. "Peter Wilson, Olympic Double Trap Gold Medallist, London 2012 - interview". Fieldsportschannel.tv. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  4. "Peter Wilson Profile". Olympic Clay Shooting. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  5. "London 2012: Peter Wilson, profile of a shooting star". BBC Sport. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  6. "The ISSF European Championships in Belgrade". Clay Pigeon Shooting Association. Archived from the original on 5 January 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/shooting/17549702
  8. "London 2012: Peter Wilson sets shotgun world record in Arizona". BBC Sport. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  9. Williams, Ollie (4 March 2011). "Peter Wilson earns GB an Olympic double trap quota spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  10. "Peter Wilson". British Shooting. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  11. "London 2012: Olympic shooting test event excites Peter Wilson". BBC Sport. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  12. "London 2012: Wilson & Faulds lead GB shooting squad". BBC Sport. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  13. "Briton Wilson wins men's double trap gold". Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  14. "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 25.
  15. "2013 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  16. "Olympic Champion Wilson announces shooting retirement". Team GB. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  17. "Olympic champion Peter Wilson retires from double trap shooting". BBC Sport. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
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