Richard FAULDS

After his son showed promise as a trap shooter, Richard Faulds’ father built his son a shooting range on the family farm in Hampshire. Clearly this must have helped Richard’s progress for he made his début for the British team at 13 and was a medalist at the World Junior Championships.

He was still a teenager when he finished fifth in the final of the 1996 Olympic double trap and won the European title the following year in Finland. Faulds added a bronze medal at the 1998 World Championships and was established as one of the favourites for the Sydney Olympics. At Sydney he placed fourth in the qualifying round but made up on the leaders and finished in a tie at the top of the leaderboard with Australia’s Russell Mark. Both men missed a clay in the first shoot-off but when the Australian missed for a second time Faulds was able to keep his nerve and claim the title. To the start of 2012 this has been Faulds’ only major championship although he has won medals at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games and has won round of the annual World Cup series. After working for many years as an instructor he set up his own shooting school, the Owls Lodge Shooting School, in Hampshire, with his wife Tanya in 2010. When Faulds appeared at the 2012 London Olympics, he became only the second British shooter to compete in five Olympics after Alister Allan (1968-92). Faulds announced his retirement from competitive shooting at the end of 2014.