Local shooting star inducted into Welsh Sports Hall of Fame

Local man David Phelps has spent more than two decades in the quiet, disciplined world of elite rifle shooting, a sport where success is measured in fractions of millimetres and the difference between triumph and obscurity can be the slightest tremor.

Now, that lifetime of precision, resilience, and service has been recognised by his induction into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, joining a roll of honour reserved for the nation’s most influential sporting figures. 

They include other local sporting stars Baroness Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and Colin Jackson, as well as the likes of Sir Gareth Edwards and John Charles.

David is only the second shooter to receive the honour and becomes only the 214th inductee across all sports.

He discovered shooting as a teenager in Cardiff, and his breakthrough came at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where he won gold in the 50m rifle prone, a performance that announced him as one of the finest marksmen Wales had ever produced, and a bronze in the 50m rifle prone pairs.

Twelve years later, in Gold Coast 2018, he repeated the feat, securing a second gold and cementing his legacy as a two-time Commonwealth champion.

After retirement from elite competition in 2018, he became a private shooting coach under his new coaching company, DoubleGold Coaching, and he now shapes the future of the sport in Wales and the UK.

His coaching blends technical precision with a deep understanding of the psychological demands of competition, helping young athletes navigate the same pressures he once faced.

In 2025 he added a new chapter to his coaching résumé when he led the NSRA (National Small-bore Rifle Association) Roberts Team to their first victory over the USA in 16 years.

The Roberts Match, a historic small-bore contest dating back to 1931, is one of the sport’s most prestigious international fixtures.

Athletes credited David's meticulous preparation, strategic clarity, and steady leadership as decisive factors. For him, it was a moment of pride not just for the win itself, but for what it represented - a resurgence of British excellence in a discipline he has devoted his life to. 

As a member of the Commonwealth Games Wales Athlete Commission, he contributes to shaping policy, improving athlete welfare, and ensuring that competitors across all sports have a voice in the decisions that affect them.

It is a role that reflects his broader philosophy: that sport is not only about performance, but about the structures, opportunities, and support systems that allow athletes to thrive.

David's local roots are recognised in the Whitchurch High School sports hall of fame twice, with a photo each of his Gold Commonwealth Games successes.

David is the husband of our premium partner Sheree Phelps at Podium Therapies. Sheree also competed in shooting at the 2010 Delhi and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Since then, she has supported Team Wales at the 2018 Gold Coast and 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games with sports massage.

Sadly this year’s Commonwealth Games is on a much smaller scale with fewer athletes and staff, so Sheree is not joining the team this time, but David continues to support Team Wales through his post in the athletes commission.