James Charles Huckle (born 17 September 1990) is an English
sport shooter
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...
, who represented Great Britain at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
He won three gold medals at the
2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was held from 12 to 18 O ...
in India and at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
he won a total of four medals, two silver and two bronze.
Since leaving competitive sport, Huckle has worked in the financial sector.
Early life and education
Huckle was born on 17 September 1990 in
Harlow
Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
, Essex. He is one of triplets with a brother and sister the same age.
He started shooting after his father bought a rifle to deal with a rat problem on his farm and at the age of 16 he saved to buy his first competition rifle.
Shooting career
2008
Huckle's international debut for England was at the
2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was held from 12 to 18 O ...
in India where he won all three men's rifle events.
Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Apjit Bindra is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman.Gagan Narang who set a new Commonwealth Games record. In the individual 10 metre air rifle Huckle came into the final in fourth place, two points behind Parr, but overtook his team mate to win the bronze medal, with gold and silver being taken by Bindra and Narang.
In the pairs three position 50 metres rifle event Huckle and Parr finished in a tie for second, behind Narang and Bindra, having recorded the same score as Scottish pair
Neil Stirton
Neil Stirton (born 1981) is a British sport shooter.
Career
Stirton has held a number of Scottish and British shooting records. In the 2005 Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships (the test event for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Gam ...
and Jonathan Hammond but were awarded the silver medal on the x count, an additional target within the maximum 10 target. In the individual 50 metre rifle three positions Huckle scored 1254.9 points to win the bronze medal; Gold was won by Narang and silver by Hammond.
As a result of winning four Commonwealth medals Huckle was awarded the Sports Personality of the Year trophy at the Essex Sports Awards 2010.
2011
At the
2011 ISSF World Cup
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
in Korea he broke double Olympic gold medallist
Malcolm Cooper
Malcolm Douglas Cooper, MBE, (20 December 1947 – 9 June 2001) was a British sport shooter and founder of Accuracy International.
Sports shooting career
He was the first shooter to win two consecutive gold medals in the Olympic 50 metre r ...
's British record in the three positions rifle. In the 50 metres rifle prone event he achieved the minimum qualifying standard for the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
with a score of 591 points at the ISSF World Cup in
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
, United States.
Huckle was named as one of the 2011 Team Essex Ambassadors for the 2012 London Olympics, receiving a £6,500 bursary from Essex County Council in exchange for visiting schools and community groups in order to inspire people about the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In November he was again named as a Team Essex Ambassador for 2012 and also won his second Sports Personality of the year award.