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 ...

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 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, th ...

, 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 Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

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 st ...

Education

Wilson was educated at three

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

s: 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'' in the village of Sparkford, 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 , lor ...

, 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 schoo ...

in the town of

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of di ...

, 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 a ...

(formerly Arts Institute at Bournemouth), in the large coastal town of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

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 Richard Bruce Faulds MBE (born 16 March 1977 in Guildford, Surrey), is a retired English sport shooter, who competed for Great Britain in the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the men's double trap. He also competed at the 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 ...

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 The National Shooting Centre is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large "Bisley Camp" complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located near the village of ...

, Wilson became the 2006 European Junior Champion at the tournament in Slovenia. In 2008 he attended the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

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, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

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

, 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

. 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

. 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

. 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

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