Richard Faulds - Shooting (From Daily Echo)

Richard Faulds - Shooting

3:49pm Tuesday 24th July 2012 in Olympians

Twelve years ago, Richard Faulds literally shot himself to fame by dramatically winning the double trap event at the Sydney Olympics .

Now, the Longparish shooting specialist is finally hoping to repeat that feat when he represents Great Britain at a home Games.

The 35-year-old is a veteran of four successive Olympics and the proud owner of a gold medal from Down Under in 2000.

He began shooting at the age of ten and was world junior champion by the time he was 16.

However, the sport was not as simple as it might have initially appeared for him.

As a child, Faulds suffered from a weak left eye and required specialist exercises to correct the problem.

But, since then, he has not looked back, and he now even shoots left-handed.

Faulds’ fifth place at Atlanta 1996 was a great debut, but the defence of his double trap title at Athens 2004 ended with a dismal 13th.

Hampshire’s Faulds improved to come sixth in Beijing four years ago, and he is hoping the upward trend will now continue.

Last year he won silver in the double trap at the European Championships and helped Great Britain to the team gold.

And he is hoping a home crowd will help inspire him. “It feels fantastic to be picked for London 2012,” he said. “To be able to compete on home turf is an absolute honour for me.

“The home crowd will be a huge advantage to all of us, and having the support of family and friends is very important to me.”