Team GB's double Olympic Shooting Bronze

Team GB's medal tally at the Rio Olympics has been boosted this week by two hard won bronze medals by shooters Ed Ling (trap) and Steve Scott (double trap).

Far from his farming roots in Somerset and representing Great Britain, it was third time lucky for 33-year-old Edward Ling as he won an Olympic Bronze medal in the men's trap shooting competition in Rio (Monday 8th August). This was his third Olympiad: he competed at Athens in 2004 and London in 2012. In Rio, having to win a shoot off for the chance to contest medals in the Brazilian humidity, Ed went on to beat Czech Republic's David Kostelecky for the bronze medal.

With 21 years' shooting experience, having started learning with his father's shotgun at the age of 12, Ed has won multiple world and European titles and the last 14 months have been packed with shooting victories: he was set for success. He has trained for two decades at the Brook Bank Clay Shooting Ground in Cheddar, run by Wesley Hann, who watched with pride on a dodgy internet connection in Sicily. Hann has always commented on Ling's talent and calm, focused nature and is confident that Ling has the ability to take gold in the future. Ling's family have backed him all the way to Rio, being keen shots themselves (his brother is an English under-16 title holder and junior European bronze medallist, his wife Abbie has been the British champion five times as well as the English Ladies' Open champion this year and his father Steven Ling is the former GB international coach).

Ed flew out to Rio mid-harvest – this was left to his family at home on their arable, beef and free-range poultry farm near Taunton, although it was likely that Steven spent more time watching his son on the telly than harvesting crops. Ed overcame the heat and humidity, which had dented his performance in Rio for the World Cup event held there in April, although the cloud cover for the Olympic event made the weather more comparable to a balmy summer's day in Somerset. Keeping his cool, he remained focused and shot to 3rd place, behind Croatian Josip Glasnović, who won gold, and Italian Giovanni Pellielo, who took home the silver medal. Ling won't be returning to a life of luxury – it is back to what he loves doing as soon as possible as far as he is concerned. Farming must go on! Unbeknownst to him, his family had started the harvest, but in order to maintain his focus, they avoided telling him. Despite this, he was asking about the weather during every call home. He may have been away from the farm, but it had certainly not left him!



On Wednesday 10th August, Steve Scott added to Team GB's medal tally, this time in the double trap discipline. 31 year old Steven Scott beat compatriot and training partner Tim Kneale in the men's double trap bronze medal match. It had been a long time since he won gold with Stevan Walton in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but in Rio, Scott, who lives in Battle, East Sussex, turned the tables. It was an all-British affair as the team-mates battled for one medal, and it must have been agonising for both of them: each wanting to win bronze but not wanting the other to lose the match. In the end, it was devastation for world-record holder Kneale as he lost by just two points to Scott, who ended on a perfect score of 30. They embraced after Scott's win, and Scott later said that Kneale was playfully kicking him during an interview, so must have taken the loss lightly. Kneale had qualified in a higher position than Scott for the bronze medal match (in 3rd with Scott in 4th), with one point more than him. However, it was not to be for Kneale in the next phase. Competing under the Olympic flag, Kuwaiti Fehaid Aldeehani won the gold medal whilst the Italian Marco Innocenti took second place and the silver medal.
Scott has worked with the coach Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum since London 2012, when the coach's protégé Peter Wilson retired after winning gold at the Olympics. Having been "self-taught for the best part of 11 years" he asked Wilson to recommend that Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum take him on as his next pupil. However, being based in Dubai means that Scott cannot simply 'pop over' to polish up his skills every few days – he lives in the UK and spends a lot of time on the phone with his coach, who he says is "the best in the world". The wet and windy conditions did nothing to thwart Scott's performance; in fact, he hit every target in the bronze medal match.
The family support received by Scott has been significant. After suffering from heartache a few weeks ago, his family flew out (one of his sisters came all the way from Australia) to see him. Scott plans to take them to a "lovely steak restaurant" before they leave. Congratulations Steve!!!