Peter Robert Russell Wilson MBE (born 15 September 1986), is a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 as ...

who specialises in the

double trap Double trap is a shotgun shooting sport, one of the ISSF shooting events. Participants use a shotgun to attempt to break a clay disk flung away from the shooter at high speed. The layout of double trap shooting is similar to that of trap shoot ...

. He is the current world record holder for the event, having scored 198 out of 200 at a World Cup event in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

during 2012. A member of the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was the youngest competitor in the men's double trap event, where he won the gold medal.

Early life

Born in Dorset on 15 September 1986, Wilson took up shooting at his father's suggestion after he suffered nerve damage to his shoulder in a snowboarding accident which left him unable to play

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Education

Wilson was educated at three independent schools: at the pre-prep ''St. Antony's Leweston Preparatory School'' in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, the junior school ''

Hazlegrove Preparatory School Hazlegrove Preparatory School is a non-selective co-educational preparatory school at Sparkford, Somerset in the south west of England. Hazlegrove is part of a foundation which also incorporates King's School, Bruton - a senior school located l ...

'' in the village of

Sparkford Sparkford is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde. It is situated near the junction of the A303 from London to Exeter and the A359 from Frome to Ye ...

, near the town of

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, followed by senior school at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

in the town of Street, also in Somerset. He then went to

Arts University Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a further and higher education university based in Poole, England, specialising in art, performance, design, and media. It was formerly known as The Arts University College at Bournemouth and T ...

(formerly Arts Institute at Bournemouth), in the large coastal town of Poole in Dorset, where he studied Graphic Design.

Career

Wilson tried his hand at both skeet and trap but was not enthusiastic enough to train religiously for them. However, after trying double trap he found a discipline that he is happy to train for every day. Wilson was encouraged by Ian Coley after meeting at the Bisley shooting ground. Soon after this he was training with shooters such as Richard Faulds and

Stevan Walton Stevan Walton (born 23 April 1985 in Bromsgrove) is a shooter from Redditch who won a gold medal in Commonwealth Games held from 3–14 October 2010 in Delhi, India. He won, with Steven Scott Steven "Steve" Scott (born 10 January 198 ...

. Within four months of trying shooting at the Bisley Ranges, Wilson became the 2006 European Junior Champion at the tournament in Slovenia. In 2008 he attended the 2008 Summer Olympics as part of Great Britain's Olympic Ambition Programme to expose possible future Olympians to the Olympic experience. He began being coached by Ahmad Mohammad Hasher Al Maktoum, who is a member of the ruling family of

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and the 2004 Summer Olympics gold medallist in the

. Following budget cuts by

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It was created ...

following the lack of shooting medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wilson's funding was removed completely and he was required to fund his shooting expenses which amount to nearly £10,000 a year. Wilson finished in fourth place at the 2011 European Shooting Championships in Belgrade with a score of 191 in the final. However, the British team came second overall, earning Wilson a silver medal alongside

and Richard Faulds. At a World Cup event held in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in 2012, Wilson set a new world record for the double trap. He scored 198 out of a possible 200 in the final, beating the previous record of 196. By winning a silver at the World Cup event in Chile in March 2012, he gained another quota spot for the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is a member of the Southern Counties shooting club. Having warmed up at the

Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 17 ...

in Woolwich in April in the test event for the Olympic venue, on 28 May, Wilson was named part of the British team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won gold, scoring 188 out of a possible 200 hits on 2 August 2012. It was Britain's first Olympic shooting medal since teammate Richard Faulds won the event in the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. Wilson was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to shooting. On 31 October 2014, at the age of 28, Wilson officially announced his retirement from competitive shooting to focus on personal life and coaching, ending abruptly his short, but remarkable career with an Olympic gold medal in men's double trap from London 2012, and three more from the 2013 ISSF World Cup series.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Peter Living people 1986 births English male sport shooters English Olympic medallists People educated at Millfield People from Dorset Trap and double trap shooters Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in shooting Olympic shooters of Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Arts University Bournemouth Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Early life

Education

Career

See also

References

External links