Hotshot Calvert rifles past Mary Peters in all-time list

David Calvert has surpassed the great Mary Peters as Northern Ireland's most prolific medal winner at the Commonwealth Games after he won the full-bore singles rifle shoot at Bisley today.

Mr Calvert now holds both of Northern Ireland's gold medals at the Games, having followed up his success with Martin Miller in the pairs competition earlier this week.

After a tense final section, the RAF man surged ahead of yesterday's leader Glynn Barnett of England to land the gold. He beat South Africa's David Dodds and New Zealand's Diane Collings to silver and bronze – shading Dodds by 404.62 to 403.53.

A jubilant David Calvert said: "This is beyond my wildest dreams. My score was a personal best, not just for this year but for the last 30 years. It is the sort of thing you dream about doing once in a lifetime, to do it twice is brilliant."

This was Mr Calvert's seventh Games and his seventh medal, with his haul now totalling three bronzes and four golds.

Northern Ireland now has two golds, a silver and a bronze, with hopes of further success in the women's bowls competition later today.

(GMcG)