Peter Wilson clinches Olympic title in shooting

by liamssoft | August 2, 2012 at 08:10 am

127 views | 1 Recommendation | 0 comments

Peter Wilson wins gold in men's double trap shooting at Royal Artillery Barracks.

The 6ft 6in shotgun shooter led for the majority of the trap shooting competition with Swede Hakan Dahlby nipping at his heels for the duration.

As it came down to the final stage, Wilson, who spent the last year training in Dubai, needed to make one shot of the two to take the gold, and was already assured of a medal.

Wilson won the gold in his debut Olympics aged only 25.

Cool head: Wilson needed to make two shots in the final stage to keep his Swedish opponent in second place.

Scoring an impressive 188 out of 200 in the final, Wilson became the Olympic champion in his debut Games - no mean feat.

By his own admission, he owes his success to a rather unusual source: a Middle Eastern prince.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hasher Al Maktoum is a member of Dubai’s ruling family and is an Olympic champion himself. The 48-year-old won gold in Athens 2004 and, upon his retirement after Beijing, agreed to coach Peter, the son of a Dorset farmer – for free.

Wilson dropped to his knees as he won gold medal in the men's double trap while his family jumped to their feet in delight.

In a tense and close-run final round Wilson won with a score of 188, ahead of Dahlby on 186 and Russia's Vasily Mosin on 185 in south east London.

A group of relatives made a special trip from Sydney, Australia, to watch the hard-working 25-year-old from Dorset make his dream come true.

Sarah Sherwood, his cousin and godmother, said: 'I am ecstatic, really proud and I knew he would do it.'

Ms Sherwood, who proudly painted a Union flag in the shape of a loveheart on her sleeve to support Wilson, said: 'He has such focus. He has a real talent, great technique and has kept his cool under pressure.

Source: dailymail.co.uk