The man with the gold and gun: Nathan Hales is Olympic champion

Great Britain’s Nathan Hales set a new record to win Olympic gold in the men’s trap competition in Paris yesterday, 30 July.

Congratulations to Great Britain’s Nathan Hales for an outstanding performance to set a new Olympic record on his way to gold in the men’s trap competition at the Paris games.

The 28-year-old from Chatham in Kent, shot an Olympic record of 48 out of 50 to beat the silver medallist, Qi Ying of China, by four shots at the shooting venue in Chateauroux, France. Nathan’s win marked the first time GB have won an Olympic trap gold since 1968, when Bob Braithwaite topped the podium.

Nathan, who is world record holder in the discipline but was making his first ever appearance at the Olympics, broke down in tears on the podium as the national anthem played.

“Being in this position is something I have dreamed of since I started shooting as a kid,” he said (told The Guardian).

“To be able to come here and actually see it through to the end is absolutely unreal. It was very tight. I just stuck to my routine and followed my process. I do some sports psychology work, so I stuck to my breathing and trusted myself. I didn’t realise it was an Olympic record until someone mentioned it.” 

Nathan, who is married to the former GB Olympian shooter Charlotte Kerwood, said his wife was his greatest supporter. “She’s been able to share some very helpful insights to thoughts and feelings I was going to be going through while we were here… it’s great being in a sport that we both enjoy together,” he said.

Hales began clay shooting aged five with his father, and progressed to Olympic trap at the Nuthampstead Shooting Ground in 2014. He won gold in trap with a world record at the World Cup in Lonato, Italy, in 2023 and won a silver medal at the world championships in Croatia in 2022.

Find out more about the Olympic shooting disciplines at britishshooting.co.uk.

Image credit British Shooting/ISSF/Nathalie Gallois.