Olympic shooting squad decided but one place still available

Previous Next

By Will Finch

Thursday, 14 June 2012

A mix of youth and experience makes up our Olympic shooting squad, but one place for a female Shot is still undecided.

Richard Faulds, Double Trap gold medallist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, will lead the British shooting team at this summer’s Games in London, the British Olympic Association has announced.

Faulds will be joined in the Double Trap event by current world number one Peter Wilson, who claimed a new world record at the World Cup in Tucson, US, earlier this year.

Speaking after the announcement at the Tower of London, Faulds said: “This will be the fifth consecutive Olympic Games that I have competed in, and to be able to compete on home turf is an absolute honour for me.”

“I still remember exactly where I was when I heard that London was to be the host city. I remember thinking ‘maybe I won’t retire just yet!’”

Team GB’s shooting squad includes further experience in the shape of 31-year-old Jonathan Hammond, current Commonwealth champion in both the 50m rifle individual and pairs events.

The youngest members of the squad are Olympic debutants Jennifer McIntosh, aged 20, and James Huckle, aged 21.

Team GB chef de mission, Andy Hunt, said: “The shooting squad possesses a good balance of youth and experience, and it is great that Peter and Richard will both be able to pass on their experience to the younger members of the team.”

“It’s exciting that the likes of Jennifer McIntosh and James Huckle have the opportunity to compete at an Olympic Games in the early stages of their career, and their potential bodes well for the future of British shooting.”

There was one noticeable omission from the list of names included in the squad — Shooting Times understands that the announcement of the female trap shooter chosen to represent Britain has been delayed because of an appeal.

Charlotte Kerwood and Shona Marshall were favourites to grab the one available spot, but 25-year-old Abbey Burton pushed herself into the reckoning by winning gold at a World Cup event in Italy last month.