Great Britain’s Nathan Hales wins men’s trap shooting gold in Paris

The 28-year-old from Chatham in Kent hit 48 shots out of 50 to break the previous record of 43.

“I cannot quite believe it!” Hales said after the event. “It is a dream come true and something I set out 10 years ago to achieve.”

Hales’ gold is Britain’s third of the Paris Games and their 11th medal overall.

China’s Qi Ying claimed silver with 44 out of 50 while Guatemala’s Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas clinched bronze.

In qualifying, Olympic debutant Hales recorded a score of 123 out of 125 from five rounds to progress joint-first in the 30-man field.

He now holds the world and Olympic records, having hit 49 out of 50 at last season’s World Cup in Italy.

Double Trap Olympic Champion at the Sydney games in 2000, Richard Faulds told ST: “Nathan is a truly deserving winner of the Olympic gold. There is no one better in the world this year and he has peaked absolutely perfectly. He will live on in the history books. It seems like it’s going in 12-year cycles for shooting medals 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024.”

Double Trap Olympic Champion at London 2012, Peter Wilson told ST: “It’s absolutely fantastic news, he’s done everything we train for but no matter how much you train, you’ve still got to go out there and deliver, plus he looked so cool while doing it.

“It’s his first ever Olympics and in performing on such a stage for the first time the odds are always going to be against you. I’m so pleased for him, and his family, and his girlfriend Charlotte, who has also shot at the highest level.

“He’s more than lived up to expectation and I’m just glad I didn’t have to compete against him in 2012.”