Welsh OT star Owain Humphreys reveals the lessons learnt from a youth spent on the stands, with Jasper Fellows

Owain Humphreys, enjoying every minute on his path to Olympic glory

Owain and Rhys Tucker won the junior team prize at the OT Home International

N orth Wales, famed for stunning landscapes, ancient castles and sheep. But, for the clay shooter in the know, there’s more than lamb and Llanberis. This mountain landscape is a hotbed of top-notch shooting grounds and facilities that offer targets to rival the biggest names across the border.

19-year-old Caernarfon native Owain Humphreys has spent the last decade making the most of these world-class facilities to position himself as one of the most promising young shots to emerge from the mines and mountains in years. He’s already represented his country both home and abroad, picked up an impressive array of sponsorship deals and been marked out as an ‘Elite Athlete’ by the Welsh Target Shooting Federation (WTSF).

While this success at a young age would leave most crushed under the weight of their egos, Owain is different. He’s propelled by a love for the sport rather than a desire to be better than the rest.

“I’ll never forget the feeling of breaking my first clay,” says Owain. “I was about 12 years old shooting a beginner’s lesson at Bob Valentine Shooting Ground near Pwllheli. It was a feeling of pure joy and excitement, and it’s a feeling I’ve managed to keep with me to this day.”