Paul Adams

Fast Facts

Sport: Shooting
Event: Men's Skeet
Olympic History: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Highlights: Winning silver and bronze World Cup medals
Year Born: 1992
State Born: Queensland

About Paul

Paul Adams grew up learning his sport of choice at the Brisbane Gun Club. He started shooting at the age of 10 and was coached by his grandfather, Ian Mathieson.

Adams was taught how to shoot on the same .22 single-shot rifle that Mathieson learned with.

Mathieson’s advice to take it ‘one at a time’ was taken to heart as Adams has these words tattooed across his chest.

Adams switched to the Olympic discipline of skeet in 2010 with a goal of making his Olympic debut in 2012. He just missed out on making the London Team and was forced to wait four more years to live out his Olympic dream.

After making the semi-final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and finishing 27th at the 2015 World Championships, Adams secured his Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games by becoming one of only two Australians to shoot a benchmark score and win one of the three Australian selection events.

Adams shot 118/125 in the qualification round in Rio to miss a shoot-off for the six-man semi-final by three shots as the Queenslander finished 19th.

Years of hard work were rewarded in 2017 when Adams won bronze at both the Acapulco and New Delhi World Cup events. The same year he was crowned Oceania champion.

Adams won silver at the 2018 Guadalajara World Cup and placed seventh at the Commonwealth Games.

The Queenslander booked his spot on his second Australian Olympic Team after he finished at the top of the selection trial leaderboard and won both Commonwealth and National titles.

Adams was placed 21st in Skeet at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. When Adams isn't competing, he works as a registered nurse.