After the most amazing finish to a world championship John Costello has become the 2013 World Field
Target Federation World Champion in some style. Three days of solid shooting under immense pressure.
And the fact that his biggest rival is his good friend and travel companion Simon Ayers, hasn't fazed him.
In a way it felt a little bit hollow, because of the way that it finished. If he had done
it on his first lane, I suppose no one would have really cared that he shot his targets
out of order. I did really feel genuinely gutted for him, it's not just one of those
things that I'm saying. If it had been me, if it would had been reserved I think he would
have been the exact same. So yeah, I was a bit disappointed for him, but then again,
you can't not be happy that you're the world champion. It's one of those strange moments
of mixed emotions I guess.
John proves to be a popular winner as shooters from across the globe take the opportunity
to congratulate him and in traditional German fashion, buy him a beer.
It was pretty nice, yeah. I forgot who bought me my first beer, I think it was Pas, the
guy I shot around with.
[off-camera] No it was me, can you believe this?
Sorry Dan. Alright, Dan got us the first beer. A load of beers, I don't know who bought what.
So yeah, cheers Dan.
Everyone was over the moon, most of the people were saying it's about time. There were a
lot of people that were quite upset when I didn't win it in 2009, when I lost out in
the shoot off but yeah, everyone was happy for us, which was really, really nice. You
know, I suppose in some sports there's some bitterness when you get beaten but everyone
seemed kind of over the moon that I won. Which is nice.
He's absolutely brilliant. John Costello, he's the youngest to have ever won it I believe.
He's a top, top young man, he'll be a great ambassador for the sport. I'm really pleased
he won it. I'd be pleased for anybody but he's a really good kid that boy and he'll
go on, and I hope he sticks with it, but he was world champion, he is world champion.
What a wonderful memory for a young man to have. Fantastic.
He's one of them, what you might call, decent sort of blokes. Have a chat with him anytime,
he's not stuck up, he's actually a good person to have within our sport. He doesn't show
off, well he doesn't do anything, he just sits down and he shoots, he hits targets,
he gets up and he chats with anyone. A very nice young man.
[off-camera] So who was the first person you told that you won?
Lauren, I think. I sent her a message and then it was my dad, mum, brother, everyone
got a group message that might have had a few expletives about being the world champion
so yeah, they were the first people I got in touch with and that ended up resulting
in having eighty messages saying "well done" and you think, I'm not replying to them in
Germany that would cost use a fortune but yeah, it was nice to see that so many people
got in touch with me in such a sort space of time, saying well done.
Superb. I shot with John in America when he was a lot younger and he had his mum over
there as a chaperone. Super nice guy and you could tell even in those days he was going
to do something special. I'm really pleased for him. I think this is his first world championships
that he's won. I predict that it won't be the last, he's going to go on and do more.
Fantastic lad. He's stayed at my house, he's met my children and family. He doesn't have
any pretensions, he really is a down to earth lad. Twenty-one, really, really do enjoy his
company. Delighted that he went to Germany and won, and I hope he wins again. Great lad.
Lovely to see him win, he's from our region so we saw him from a youth starting, he's
progressed up, and it had to come, and here it is now, and I think he'll go up and he'll
win a lot more.
And John is punching well about his weight with his misses. She is stunning.
We've been away for five days. So pretty much anybody's looking stunning.
Just for Lauren, Lauren it is, isn't it? Lauren, you want to see the photos he's been showing
us. Fair play, lovely girl. Very nice.
And a hell of a six pack.
That was a six pack? Oh yeah, nice six pack. I've never seen a big six pack like that before.
John, sorry mate. She is nice.
I'm doing my best to try and not drag this conversation any lower.
My name is Friedrich Gepperth. I am the president of the BDS, the Bund Deutscher Sportschützen
since 1996 and also an active shooter, namely IPC shooter but also big bore air rifle and
hand gun and we came across field target in 1999. I'm the head of a relatively big organisation
with about 50,000 members and we integrated field target into our association in 2000
and are happy that we now have had a second world championship here.
The sport will, I believe in my eyes, get more and more professional. I believe we are
as professional as we can be. We try everything, we have a super set of rules and we do the
best we can. I believe, when people talk about it being a world sport, we cannot make it
an Olympic sport until every country in the world has the same set of rules and I would
say within the next ten years, the world's clubs, in which there's quite a few, will
gradually get their rules together and make one set of rules, and at that moment I would
love to see it as an Olympic sport.
Well it's not going to be an Olympic sport. I was in Atlanta when the Olympic games was
there and they talked about having it as a demonstration sport but the IOC that time
didn't believe they needed more shooting sports, they wanted less. So I don't think it's going
to be an Olympic sport. But there's no reason why more countries around the globe shouldn't
have field target events, and now we've just come back from the world championships in
Germany it is a global event now and air rifles are in every corner of the globe. So, it's
just a question of those competitions and the structure of those competitions sort of
having a uniform set of rules and we can have matches anywhere and everyone's looking forward
to that. More countries and more people shooting abroad.
I'm totally happy, I'm really impressed how big it was, with twenty-six nations, twenty-seven
nations and around 300 competitors, we had even more entries but as you know, a world
championship can only handle so much. It could have 480 entries but 300 is the maximum.
Field target is becoming extremely popular in Europe and around the world. There are
some differences in some interpretation of rules. Some of those rules do not lend themselves
to the UK particularly the twelve foot pound rule. I think that unless everybody around
the world aligns to a twelve foot pound, sixteen joule limit that will always cause conflict.
Also the layout of the courses there needs to be some consistency between regions of
the country and across Europe and the world to make sure that what they are practicing
what they call field target when they move elsewhere to compete it is field target. Germany
for example was a great contest, but the angles for example that were present were something
that we don't experience here in this country. There's nothing wrong with that but we need
a uniform set of rules that we can all adhere to. When we do that, and I think we will do
that, the sport will improve. I think the next big step in field target is the spread
of field target into Europe, and we've got countries, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and soon
France I hope, which will mean a true European flavour to competitions is not far away.
I think it will become more global, I think that more countries will get the bug. Because
air guns are so convenient you can have a really good day's sport on such a comparatively
small piece of ground, I can only see that as good for spreading the word. I don't know
if I want it to be anymore formalised than it is, because the dynamic changes. I hope
the friendship stays where it is now, I hope the social side of the sport is as important
now as it was then for us, I hope that they'll never lose the fellowship and never stop helping
one another and thinking about the sport. So it will go where it will go, I'm sure it
will finally spread as most things have, but it's certainly, to my mind, going to go wider
as far as global expansion goes.
Yes, my message is that it's a great sport. Instead of all of the technical things it
still the shooter to do it, and it's very challenging, a lot of fun, and it's not that
expensive and it doesn't make any noise. So you don't need hearing protection.
After only a short few hours the field target world gathers for the pinnacle of their year.
That is Volker Bluem.
With a fantastic score of 48 on the final day Sergey Zubenko managed to come out of
nowhere to finish joint second with Simon Ayers, only to lose the shoot off. Simon Ayers
takes the runner up trophy for the second time in his career after coming so close this year.
And the world champion, is John Costello from England.
It didn't feel real, you stood there in three to four hundred people who are all cheering
and clapping for you and it's a bizarre feeling, hard to describe. I mean I won competitions
before never to an audience of that sort of size. So when you have that many people, it
sounds stupid, but they're asking for your autograph and stuff and it's like: "What?
No, I'm just John."
It's been a really tough tournament, I've had to shoot my balls off, I had a really,
really tough time. But it's been practiced, been years in the making to be honest. I'm
really, really happy that it's happened now because in front of all these people, around
three to four hundred people, it's fantastic to see it come off. I'm ecstatic, the feeling
is almost indescribable, it's euphoric. It's been a fantastic journey out here and I've
really, really enjoyed it.
You can't describe it. It's something that money couldn't buy. To gain respect from that
many people is properly priceless. It really, really is something. Yeah, I'm pretty happy.
[off camera] What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get home?
I'm gonna see Lauren.
[off camera] And what are you going to say to her?
Alright love. The world champion, me.
The night was great though. Had quite a few beers. Some schnapps, and a couple of kegs
back at the hotel which was interesting.
The 2013 World Field Target Federation World Championships in Ebern, Germany have been
a roaring success and amongst the largest and most competitive field ever assembled,
England's young superstar John Costello has risen to the challenge. Next year's tournament
is to be held in New Zealand and should prove to be a very interesting contest.
Next I'm likely going to go out to New Zealand, and touch wood, take the trophy back. Hoping
to go back out there and win it again.
There's not too many of use in New Zealand but I believe it's one of the fastest growing
shooting sports. If people get to compete in it they get hooked and don't seem to leave
but the whole shooting fraternity in New Zealand is like one big family. We all know each other,
we bitch and moan like families do but in the end we are all supportive of each other
and like having fun. And the fact that we travel from one end of the north island to
the other for competitions which is about an eight hour drive shows you how passionate
we are about competing, because we get out and we do it.
Not happy with conquering the world in his own field John has high hopes for his future.
I'm looking at doing more olympic stuff as well. I've already started doing ten metre
air rifle and pistol. So looking to get on a couple of teams with that and progress my
way to the Olympics, the next big goal I suppose.