It was a day of immense pride for the UAE – August 17, 2004 – when Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Hasher Al Maktoum put the nation on the map of international competitive shooting and won the country’s first gold medal in the Olympics.
The venue was Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre, the site of the shooting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The event was double trap, a shotgun shooting sport, where athletes attempt to break a clay disc flung away from the shooter at high speed.
There were gusting winds and swirling conditions that day. Sheikh Ahmed raised his double-barrel shotgun and set his aim at two clay discs emerging from traps on either side of the shooting range. It was an extraordinary test of accuracy and technique as Sheikh Ahmed had to switch targeting one disc after the other – both flying at about 140kmph – in just about one second.
Sheikh Ahmed was on target right from the qualifying round, matching the Olympic record of 144 – missing only six of the maximum 150 clay discs. He was a man on a mission in the final round, building enough lead to put himself in a winning position against five other finalists even before the last shots were fired.
After Sheikh Ahmed fired his last shot, he kissed the barrel of his Beretta shotgun and embraced his rivals as he secured the first gold medal for the UAE in Olympic history. He tallied a total of 189 points (including 45 out of 50 in the final) to finish well ahead of India’s Rajyavardhan Rathore who took silver with 179 points, and Wang Zheng from China, who settled for bronze (178).
As reported by Khaleej Times, Sheikh Ahmed said: “I knew I had the gold medal well before the final ended because my coach had signaled to me from the stand. My job was done, so I didn’t concentrate on the final few shots.”
“I can’t even explain, I’ve worked so hard for four years. I’ve been practicing day and evening, seven days a week, and sometimes a minimum of five days a week. I didn’t expect such a big winning margin. After the qualifying, I could only beat myself,” he added.
Sheikh Ahmed continued: “God helped me today. The achievement is very small in comparison to what our country and Rulers have given us.”
High point
The gold-medal feat marked the high-point of Sheikh Ahmed’s shooting career which began late in 1997 when he was already 34 years – an age when most shooters would start thinking of calling it a day.
But Sheikh Ahmed, born on February 18, 1963, always had this intrinsic feeling that he had the talent, technique and mental toughness to strike it big on the world stage.
Before the 2004 Athens Olympics, Sheikh Ahmed, who has a business degree from Western State University in Phoenix, won a string of World Cup events and hauled medals.
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Family tradition
“Shooting is a family tradition,” said Sheikh Ahmed, a self-taught shooter who credited his father – Sheikh Mohammed Hasher Al Maktoum – for his Olympic achievement.
“My father, even my grandfather, were ace shooters. I used to accompany them on their usual weekend hunting trips when Dubai was a nice, peaceful desert. In a sense, I don’t even remember when I first held an air gun in my hand, but I do remember when I held a toy first or for that matter when I drove a car first.
“But it’s difficult to say when I pulled the trigger first. What I am trying to drive the point home here is that the skills for shooting run in our veins,” he said in an interview with Khaleej Times back in the day.
A hero’s welcome
After his historic win in Athens, Sheikh Ahmed was given a hero’s welcome on his return to the UAE.
Congratulatory messages poured in from UAE leaders, sports bodies, and well-wishers throughout the country and beyond.
Mohammed Al Khaja, member of the UAE National Olympic Committee, said: “Sheikh Ahmed’s success was due to his hard work and determination to bring an Olympic medal to the nation.”
“It was hard to imagine the UAE as a young nation would win a gold in Athens Olympic Games. We are really proud of Sheikh Ahmed’s achievement,” commented a Dubai businessman, while another added: “We achieved a milestone by winning the country’s first Olympic gold and now we can look forward building on what Sheikh Ahmed has accomplished.”