THE tears in the eyes of Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum as Peter Wilson celebrated
gold said it all.
You could call Wilson the Manchester City of shooting and the Olympics.
Without the help of his own Arab sheikh he would never have been standing on
the top of the podium at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich.
And the climax felt every bit as dramatic as Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp goal
which clinched the Premier League title.
The explosion of pink powder when he split the 199th clay out of 200 was the
signal Wilson had won.
But the relationship between the farm boy from Dorset and Sheikh Ahmed, of
Dubai’s ruling family, goes far deeper than the £1billion game of fantasy
football Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour is playing at City.
It’s like Yoda and Luke Skywalker, Mr Miyagi and the Karate Kid. But with a
shotgun.
Wilson said: “I dedicate this gold medal to Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum. Without
him I would not be here.
“I am going to celebrate with him long into the night.
“He knows more about shotgun shooting than anyone else. I truly believe that.
“How fortunate was I back in 2008 to land on my feet with him as my coach?”
Answer: Very.
Wilson’s shooting career had begun well in 2006 but his form had fallen off
and so he was one of the victims when funding for shooting was cut in 2008.
However, the stars aligned in Beijing. Wilson explained: “I had shot alongside
him on the circuit and we became friends, mainly because I’m a big fan of
squash and he was an international player.
“I went to the Beijing Olympics as part of Ambition 2012, to get experience of
the Games.
“I told him, ‘I’m going to lose my funding, I’m going to have to get a job, I
really don’t know if I’m going to be able to carry on shooting.’
“He told me: ‘In an hour’s time I’m going to call a press conference to
announce my retirement. I have to do that because I am a prince. But once
that is out of the way, I’m free.’
“The following February I flew to Dubai and we agreed he would become my coach
with a handshake over a coffee.”
But there was one key condition.
Wilson said: “When we had this handshake and this coffee there were only a few
rules. I don’t pay him any money and he hasn’t asked.
“The knowledge he passes on to me is very specific, knowledge he has gained
through many years of competing.
“He said: ‘I would ask that you don’t tell ANYONE what we talk about, not even
your father,’ and that was that.
“It is like fight club – the first rule of fight club, you don’t talk about
fight club.”
It was the equivalent of Zara Phillips starting to teach the secrets of
three-day eventing to someone from the UAE and Sheikh Ahmed admits his
compatriots were a little puzzled.
Sheikh Ahmed said:”They talked about it at the beginning. I said that when it
comes to sport if someone is a good student, is ready to believe in me, then
why not? I will give my experience to someone I know will be honest with me.
He said: “Will you coach me?” I said it depends if you will be a good boy. I
will not be nice to you.
“I believe in my style. I’ve turned him upside-down completely, moved his gun
completely, just from A to Z.
“My attitude to the sport mentally is different to others’. And technically,
it is very different. It is my technique. I said, ‘If you pass it on to
someone else, they will beat you.’”
Wilson improved so quickly that he quickly regained his funding.
He has spent the month of Februrary every year in Dubai with the Sheikh, seen
him at competitions and spoken to him on the phone whenever the need arose.
Sheikh Ahmed told Wilson that if his pupil needed him by his side at London
2012 then he would have failed as a teacher.
But in the end, the Sheikh put off treatment for his heart problem to be here.
And that’s why, after hugging dad Charles, mum Fiona and girlfriend Michelle,
Wilson sought out and embraced Sheikh Ahmed.
The prince from the desert with tears in his eyes.
Video : Wilson deals with extra pressure