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British Shooters at the Olympic Games (Part 2)
Part 2 of our history of British clay target shooters at the Olympics focuses on the years 1952 - 1964.
1952
Clay target shooting returned to the Olympics after a long hiatus in 1952. Here at the Helsinki Olympic Games, when Trap shooting with 15 traps throwing targets up to 80 metres was introduced, a young George Genereux from Canada won the event with 192 x 200. Britain was represented by 59-year-old-Enoch Jenkins who previously competed in the 1920 and 1924 Games – he finished in 14th place. GB’s Charles Lucas came in 35th.
1956
For the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 Joe Wheater was invited to compete at his own expense as he was, at the time, the best clay target shooter in Great Britain, and perhaps the greatest ever. Joe came in 18th, followed closely by UK’s Ernest Fear in 21st.
1960
At the 1960 Games staged in Rome, Wheater finished just behind the winner of the Olympic Trap event (Dumitrescu of Romania), coming in sixth. Victor Huthart came in 12th equal.
1964
Bob Braithwaite and Joe Wheater were consistently shooting scores at Olympic Trap which placed them at the top of the CPSA averages and clearly identified them as the obvious choice to compete in the Tokyo Games.
In 1964, Japan seemed much further away than it does today and even flying in the De Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner, it was a long haul. Still recovering from the devastation of World War II less than 20 years before, the resilient hosts were welcoming and determined to show the Olympians that their country was on the road to recovery. Braithwaite achieved seventh in the Men’s Trap event, with Joe Wheater achieving 11th place.
To read part 3 covering clay pigeon disciplines at the Olympics from 1968 - 1980, click here.