Sibling rivalry is a common theme in the Evans household.
Aedan Evans, who was one of Scotland’s top junior shooters, will be on the plane to the Gold Coast to compete for Team Scotland, despite only turning senior at the start of the year.
However, younger brother Conall is quickly forging his own reputation. He is already on the GB pathway programme and is earmarked as an international shooter of the future. Sister Ciara is also a member at Forres Small Bore Pistol and Rifle Club.
Aedan knows he is a target, in more ways than one. He said: “My brother is looking to get to a similar level I’m at and it would be great to compete alongside him for Scotland. I shot with him at a few competitions last year and he hasn’t managed to beat me yet, although I’m sure it won’t be long.”
For a 20-year-old fresh out of junior competition, it will be a steep learning curve heading into one of the biggest multi-sport events in the world. But Evans has the pedigree to back it up. He came seventh at the world junior championships last year and also picked up three golds and two silvers at the junior international championships in Surrey. He came 11th in the Commonwealth Shooting Federation championships, held in Brisbane at the end of October, which is seen as a test event for the Commonwealth Games.
Evans said: “That was a learning experience for me and that’s what the team manager wanted before we went out there. It didn’t matter how we performed as it was just a test event.”
Evans’ discipline is the 10m air pistol, which involves shooting at a target from 10 metres away at various scoring rings, ranging from one on the outside of the target to 10 in the middle. Men take 60 shots in a maximum of 105 minutes in the qualification rounds, with a further 10 taken in the final.
In the qualification rounds in Brisbane, held at the Belmont Shooting Centre where the Games equivalent will take place, Evans scored 556, which was just five points away from securing a place in the final.
He started shooting six years ago to fulfil the skills section of his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award and he picked up the bug.
Like many athletes hailing from the north of Scotland, travelling for competitions is an issue but he has to grin and bear it if he wants to reach the top. He thanks his employers, Mackenzie & Cruickshank, for allowing him the time off to compete and says they have been very supportive of his quest to get to the top of his discipline. His 21st birthday does not come until May but he is not shy of having high hopes.
Evans said: “I definitely have aspirations of going to the Olympics, if not in 2020 then definitely in 2024. I watched the Games four years ago and thought ‘I want to do that’. Now I’m doing it.”
• The 10m men’s air pistol gets under way on Monday.