A Cupar man has been crowned Scottish rifle champion at the age of 69, becoming one of the sports’ oldest ever winners.
Ken Greenaway enjoyed moderate shooting success as a young man, but a lack of direction meant he gave up on the sport he loved shortly after leaving Edinburgh University rifle club.
He returned to the sport competitively six years ago and, during the Scottish Smallbore Rifle championships last week, was awarded the Earl Haig Cup for coming first in his “x-class” shooting competition.
The competition, which took place in Lauder in the Scottish Borders, saw more than 30 entrants from across Scotland take part.
He has set himself some new targets — to repeat his success at the UK competition in August and to secure a place on the UK team to face off against the USA in 2017.
Mr Greenaway said: “As a young man, I took part in shooting competitions, but I don’t feel that there was the same guidance back then, so I stopped doing it.
“Maybe, with the right guidance, I could have gone on to shoot at the highest level.
“I took up smallbore rifle competitions again six years ago, and have competed at several competitions in the x-class category, which is the top competition level.
“I believe I am the oldest winner of the Earl Haig cup, which is the top smallbore rifle competition in the country.
“My next event is the British national competition which takes place in Bisley, just outside London.
“I would also like to take part in the international competition that takes place between the UK and the USA every four years.
“The Americans are coming to compete here in 2017 and the British team go over in 2021, and I would certainly like to be involved.”
Mr Greenaway also said he would like to see more younger people taking up the sport, with the majority of the competitors at last weeks event being middle aged.
Ian Thomson, Scottish Smallbore Rifle Association chairman, said: “Ken was the top performer for the whole week winning the “X” Class Aggregate , having the top score in the Scotland Team and winning the Haig.
“An exceptional performance in anyone’s view.”
Smallbore rifle competitions involve using a .22 calibre rifle to shoot at paper targets at distances varying between 15-100 yards.
The Scottish Smallbore Rifle Association (SSRA) was formed in 1996, following the introduction of smallbore rifle competitions at the Commonwealth Games.
The SSRA is the governing body for both smallbore rifle competition and air rifle competition.
