Gleaves crowned national champion for second time after hard-fought season

Matthew Gleaves crowned Benchrest UK National Champion

Airgun World columnist Matthew Gleaves BEM has been crowned Benchrest UK National Champion for the second time, securing the number one ranked shooter position for the fourth consecutive year.

Gleaves triumphed at the National Championships in November, winning the air rifle aggregate title. He described the victory as hard-fought and the season as his toughest yet, stating on his podcast: “I have fought for every point this year. Nothing has come easy and that’s how it should be because it’s a sport.”

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Triumphant performance in challenging conditions

After finishing the first day in fourth place, Gleaves turned his fortunes with challenging weather. Embracing the wind, he said: “I was energised as I knew this was game on.” The tough conditions played to his strengths, helping him win the aggregate by nine points.

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Other category winners: Jacobs, Price and Collins

In other categories, Tom Jacobs claimed the sub-12 heavy rifle gold (score of 732), beating Gleaves on X count and finishing the season as the Unlimited Air Rifle category’s top-ranked shooter. Ian Price won the light rifle title (score of 741).

Richard Collins dominated the rimfire competition, winning both the overall rimfire aggregate and the Unlimited Air class. His aggregate score of 1,493 placed him ahead of his rivals. Collins also finished the season as the number one ranked rimfire shooter.

Looking ahead, Gleaves predicted the competition would intensify, highlighting young shooter Josh Fowler as being “right on the cusp of winning” his first national-level event.