Michael is a '˜man on a mission' for para trap honours

Leven man Michael Drever has his sights set on gold in Italy.

British Shooting has selected 12 seated shooters for wheelchair classes 1 and 2 and one female standing representative for the class for athletes with lower limb impairments.

Michael, orginally from Orkney, is the only Scot selected and one of only two British men in the section for Para trap athletes with upper limb impairments.

Michael has had upper limb impairment since birth and he supports the fore end of the gun with his impaired left arm.

Because he has no hand, Michael does not have the ability to grip the gun and this of course makes gun control more difficult.

The 35-year-old is coached by Iain Macgregor, one of the world’s leading coaches in this shooting discipline.

Michael shoots two to three times a week depending on his weekend competitions programme and has a midweek practice at Auchterhouse Country Sports.

Like so many high performance sportsmen and women, Michael is incredibly determined and focussed.

In 2015 he set himself a goal of representing Scotland in Olympic Skeet.

After only 12 months of shooting competitively he was selected to represent Scotland at the Home Countries International Tournament 2016, in Lispopple, Ireland.

Later in the same year he was also invited to the CSF (ED) in Wales.

It was there he became aware of para Trap and he shot his first trap competition in March 2017.

Michael has now set his sights on becoming successful internationally in Para trap and perhaps one day competing at a Paralympic Games.

President of Disability Sport Fife, Richard Brickley MBE, said: “All of us in Disability Sport Fife wish him well.

“Michael is the first para athlete based in Fife to excel in international shooting.

“This is a man on a mission for para trap honours.”

The Orcadian moved south to study architectural technology after leaving school.

Michael has worked in both private practice architectural firms as well as the public sector.

More recently he successfully studied towards an MSC in construction project management on day release whilst working full time.

Typical of the man he obtained an MSc with distinction and the Napier University Medal.

For the past three years Michael has been employed as project manager in the estates department at the University of St Andrews. He has been involved in a variety of exciting capital projects including the sports centre refurbishment, new Scottish oceans institute extension on the East Sands and the refurbishment of Andrew Melville Hall which is a grade A listed student accommodation.