Nathan Milgate
Kent shooting star Nathan is building a formidable reputation on the international circuit.
He was National Champion in 2006, British Champion 2007, won the 2007 Korean Open and represented Great Britain at the 2008 Paralympic Games at Beijing.
The 22-year-old is from Herne Bay where he continues to train with his club, as well as travelling to Stoke Mandeville each month for GB Squad sessions.
Profile
Date and place of birth: 10th May 1987, Canterbury, Kent
Current ranking: England - 1, World - 12 prone, 13 standing
Career highlights to date:
» GB Squad. National Champion 2006 & British Champion 2007.
» Won Korean Open in 2007.
» Identified as a rising star on the London 2012 website.
Shooting for success in Spain
I represented Great Britain at the Alicante Cup Disabled Shooting Competition in Spain and brought home three individual Bronze medals and a team Gold.
With my team-mates Karen Butler and Stephen Robertson, I scooped a Gold medal in the R2 10m air rifle SH1 event. I shot a score of 588 out of 600 and then followed this up with a score of 588 plus 101.3 in the final of the individual event to win a Bronze medal.
I gained a second Bronze in the R3 10m air rifle prone SH1 mixed event, with a final score of 699.5 (596 plus a final round score of 103.5). My third Bronze then followed in the R1 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.
More medals for Milgate
I won five medals at the Wheelpower National Shooting Championships at Stoke Mandeville, where I competed against Britain's top disabled shooters.
In the R1 10m air rifle standing SH1 International Shooting Committee for Disabled (ISCD) event I beat Paralympic Gold medallist Matt Skelhon to take home the Gold medal with a score of 580 out of 590. I repeated this success in the equivalent National Small-Bore Rifle Association (NSRA) event, again holding off Matt to claim the Gold.
I claimed Gold in the R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SHA ISCD event with a score of 596 out of 600 and racked up the same score in the R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 NSRA event. In my final event, the R6 50m Small Bore Rifle prone Englist Match SH1 ISCD and NSRA combined I picked up a Silver medal with a total score of 578.
Silver for Nathan at Turkish Cup
I competed as part of a ten-strong successful medal-winning British team at the Turkish Cup. In the R1 10m air rifle standinf SH1 event I picked up a silver medal, just behind my team mate Matt Skelhon who took the gold. I shot 580 and a final score of 100 to beat my closest competitor, Laslo Suranji from Serbia, to the silver medal.
In the Falling Target Rifle SH1 mixed competition I went one better, taking a gold medal ahead of Celal Karaca from Turkey and my team mate Deanna Coates who won the bronze medal. In the R3 10m air rifle prone I also finished in sixth.
Nathan strikes gold
I beat the Paralympic shooting gold medallist to win my event at the 2009 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix in Toronto.
I won gold in the SH1 rifle competition, which combined standing and prone disciplines after scoring 587 out of 600 in the standing event and 598 out of 600 in the prone event. I notched up an overall total of 1,185 points to beat Matt Skelhon, who won gold at the Beijing Paralympics, to the gold medal by three points.
Nathan’s taste of Paralympic competition
I put in a solid performance at my first Paralympic Games in Beijing.
It was a nervous start to the competition for me and the whole experience was quite nerve-wracking, but I did well in my first event and finished eighth in the R1 10m air rifle (standing) final.
In the next event, the Mixed R3 10m air rifle (prone), I finished twelfth out of 44 competitors. It was great to make a final and I enjoyed it a lot. I'm looking forward to competing at the 2012 London Games, where I hope to be a medal contender.
Milgate On Target Again
Nathan Milgate returned triumphant from the Slovakian Open (Katarina Brandomburova Memorial) for the Disabled Shooting Tournament - his final competition before the Beijing Paralympics.
Nathan, who will make his Paralympic debut this summer, shot 587 in the qualification round of the R1 10m air rifle standing SH1 to qualify for the finals in first place. He then shot 99.5 in the finals to take the gold medal.
The Slovakian Open took place inVistuk Slovakiafrom 16 to 19 July.
Olympic opportunity for Nathan
Nathan has been named in the British shooting squad to compete at the Beijing Paralympic Games this summer after a string of impressive results at recent competitions.
Nathan said: "It's a great honour for me to be selected to compete at Beijing and it'll be my first Paralympics. I've got a hectic training schedule over the next few months but it will be good preparation for the Games. It should put me in good stead for a strong performance and hopefully I'll be in the running for a medal."
Nathan's progress
I attended training camps with the national squad in preparation for the Turkish open in Bodrum, which took place from 28 April - 3 May. This was the last competition before Beijing selection took place on 7 May. I shot a personal best in the R1 (Air Rifle Standing) event of 593 out of 600 and achieved a silver medal.
More medals for Milgate
Nathan added to his trophy cabinet with silver and bronze medals from the International Polish Cup Disabled Competition held at Szczecin in March.
He shot 583 in the R1 60 shot SH1 air rifle to take silver and also took bronze in the SH1 falling target rifle.