Human Interest |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Norfolk, ENG |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Norwich, ENG |
General Interest |
Injuries |
He has mild arthritis in his shoulder. (London Daily Telegraph, 28 Dec 2001) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
I was in the Air Cadets when I was in my teens. They started me off rifle shooting and we had an indoor range at 25 yards. We used to blow out candles at 25 yards. It was great fun and that's how I started. |
General Interest |
Most influential person in career |
"A chap called Alby Fox. He's an ex-RAF officer type chap. He started me off in the next step up from club level shooting where I started shooting for the Royal Air Force. He was my early sort of influence and later on I took other influences from my coach George Darling. I then started to look at other people like Ragnar Skanaker and Uwe Potteck and tried to emulate them." (pilkguns.com, 01 Mar 2000) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
I started at 14 shooting rifles but never took anything really seriously until I was in my 30s. I wished I'd entered the Olympic disciplines in my 20s. |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
I try to treat every match as a practice match for the next one. (pilkguns.com, 24 Aug 2010) |
Other information |
PROTEST After winning gold in Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur: "I dedicated the first gold to myself, the second to my family, the third to all the England shooters who are affected by the ban on free pistol and centre fire pistol by the British government and the fourth to my hometown folk in Norfolk." Other British shooters also have complained about the bans which force them to train across the Channel in European countries. The government imposed bans on their weapons after a spate of recent mass murders. (Reuters, 20 Sep 1998)
SUCCESS Heading into the 2010 Commonwealth Games he was the most successful English athlete in the history of the Games holding 15 Commonwealth medals of which nine are gold. (shootingwiki.org, 24 Aug 2010) |
Sport Specific Information |
Handedness |
Shoots right |