Grantham paintballer shoots way to second place with Team GB
Veteran paintballer Simon Richards-Cole was part of a GB team which came second at an international tournament in France.
The 57-year-old from the Manthorpe Estate was the oldest player competing at the Millennium Paintball Series in Puget-sur-Argens.
The GB veterans team beat both Germany and Ukraine to come top of their group, despite a surprise 4-0 defeat by Norway.
They then played Russia in a tense semi-final. Simon explained: “In this match it was all square at 3-3, with the objective to be the first team to score four points against the opposition - it was tense to say the least!
“Russia scored the point but upon checking by a referee the player was found to have a hit on him in an unobvious place. A decision was made to play the last point again - GB prevailed, won the point and went through to the final against France.”
In the final they faced a very strong French team, but Simon said they were ‘delighted’ to finish second.
At the next tournament in the Millennium Paintball Series, to be held in Germany, the GB pro team will play.