Shooting trailblazer Matt Coward-Holley is confident he can etch his name further into the history books in Tokyo this summer following his selection in Team GB’s Olympic squad.
The 26-year-old became Great Britain’s first ever Olympic Trap world champion in 2019 and will compete in the same discipline during his maiden Games.
The shooting ace is in fine form, having teamed up with Kirsty Hegarty to win mixed team trap gold at the Shotgun World Cup in Italy last week as he prepares to compete as one of four shooters for Team GB this summer.
And the Chelmsford ace has high hopes, targeting a podium place in Japan.
“I have the outright goal of winning the Olympics but the first challenge is securing your place,” said Coward-Holley.
“Now the hard work can begin with fine-tuning everything to give myself the opportunity to get on that podium, which would mean everything.
“I was peaking at the right time last year but I have full confidence I can put everything in place to peak again – 100 per cent."
A talented rugby player as a teenager, Coward-Holley’s sporting journey could have been very different had he not twice broken his back – both during county trials.
Returning to shooting, a sport he had first tried aged eight, helped him on the road to recovery and having successfully switched disciplines – Coward-Holley was a reserve for Rio 2016 in the Double Trap, no longer an Olympic event – he is counting down the days until Tokyo.
“I got back into shooting as I was missing competitive sport and it was something I could do with my injuries,” he said.
“I never expected to take it as far as I have done but when I got into the GB Double Trap team quite quickly, I thought ‘this could lead somewhere’.
“It’s a dream to get to an Olympics. It’s the pinnacle of sport and I can’t wait."
Sportsbeat 2021