Malcolm Cooper

Malcolm Cooper first took up shooting as a 14-year-old in New Zealand, where his father was stationed as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. He soon earned a place in the Auckland City team and when he returned to New England, after three years in New Zealand, he immediately established himself as a marksman of county standard. From then on Cooper progressed steadily to become the finest small-bore rifle shot in the world. After placing 18th at both the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, Cooper missed the 1980 Games in Moscow because of the boycott by the British shooting team but in 1984 he won the gold medal by ten clear points. He repeated his victory at Seoul in 1988 although this time he only had one point to spare over his teammate Alister Allan. Apart from his two Olympic gold medals, Cooper established himself as the best in the world with numerous wins at the World and European championships. Possibly the outstanding performances came from the 1985 European championships when he won all five individual titles and at the 1986 World Championships when he set five world records. In all, Cooper has set 17 world records and shooting is now his full time occupation. His wife, Sarah, was also a member of the Olympic shooting team in 1988 and together they ran a shooting supplies business in Hayling Island, Accuracy International. An MBE recipient, Cooper died of cancer at age 54.