The aims high with shooting dream

A final year Harper Adams student has his sights set on shooting success at the Commonwealth Games in Australia next March.

Tim Kneale, 23, from the Isle of Man learnt to shoot on his family farm when he was 12 and has since developed into a world-class clay-pigeon shooter.

Tim, who is also a keen rugby player, decided to concentrate on shooting after a broken leg.

“I thought if I’m going to spend more time shooting I may as well do an Olympic discipline,” he says.

This decision paid off with him first representing the Isle of Man when he was 16 and Great Britain when the team took gold in the 2004 Cyprus Grand Prix.

The challenge of preparing for the Commonwealth Games will be doubly hard for Tim who is in his final year of a Countryside and Environmental Management degree.

“Harper Adams is being very supportive about me going to the Games and I’m concentrating on getting the bulk of work out of the way before Christmas,” says Tim.

After recent success at the Bisley Selection shoot at the end of September where he finished 3rd overall, Tim is currently taking a break from training to rest a shoulder injury.

His gruelling schedule usually involves shooting 200-250 targets a week, but he has been concentrating on his fitness by visiting the gym four times a week.

So how does Tim rate his chances at the Games?

“In terms of results I never like to say how I will perform, but you have to be quietly confident.”