Derek Burnett
Shooting
BIOGRAPHY
Derek Burnett represented Ireland in the men’s trap shooting event at five Olympic Games: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 – becoming only the third Irish athlete to compete at five Summer Olympics, alongside race walker Robert Heffernan and sailor David Wilkins.
His best Olympic result came at Athens 2004, where he finished joint 9th with a score of 119 out of 125, narrowly missing a place in the six-person final. He narrowly missed qualifying for Rio 2016 by a single target after being temporarily distracted by a fellow competitor breaking his gun beside him. He qualified for Tokyo 2020 by shooting 121 at a World Cup event in the UAE in 2019, and finished 26th in Tokyo with a score of 118 out of 125.
Away from the Olympics, Burnett won a World Cup bronze medal in 1998 and silver in 2007, had a top-five finish at the 2002 World Championships, and won European Championship silver medals in 2010 and 2013. He competes for Athlone Clay Pigeon Club and has been competing for Ireland since 1997.
SHOOTING NEWS
LA28 Qualification Dates in 2026
ROAD TO LA ALREADY UNDERWAY! 2026 marks the beginning of the qualification journey for many sports as they look ahead to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. Qualifying for the Games, which take place from 14–30 July 2028, is challenging across all disciplines. Most sports require either direct qualification through specific events, qualification via [...]
Events coming up in May 2026
Athletics 2-3 May: World Athletics Relays, Gaborone, Botswana Boxing 3-10 May: Feliks Stamm Tournament, Warsaw, Poland Canoeing 29-31 May: Canoe Slalom World Cup 1, Ljubljana, Slovenia Cycling 1-3 May: Downhill & Cross-country Olympic World Series round 1, South Korea 22-24 May: Rás Tailteann, Ireland 22-24 May: Cross Country World Series, Czech Republic [...]
Istanbul 2027 European Games
A Key Step on the Road to LA28 The 4th European Games will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 16 to 27 June 2027, one year out from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. For Team Ireland, Istanbul represents a significant moment in the LA28 cycle: a major competitive platform, a qualification opportunity across multiple [...]
Sport Events Coming up in July
We are at the start of a jam packed July, check here for information on the upcoming events? DATES EVENT (SPORT) 27 June – 6 July EQUESTRIAN Team Ireland – World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen – Aachen, Germany LINK 28-29 June ATHLETICS Team Ireland – European Athletics Team Championships Division 2 – Maribor, Slovenia LINK [...]
Jack Fairclough Sets New Irish Record and Makes History at ISSF World Cup in Cyprus
Jack Fairclough Sets New Irish Record and Makes History at ISSF World Cup in Cyprus Nicosia, Cyprus — Jack Fairclough has delivered a landmark performance for Irish shooting sport at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun in Nicosia, Cyprus, setting a new Irish record in Men’s Olympic Skeet with a remarkable score of 122 out of 125 [...]
EUROPEAN GAMES | RESULTS & ROUND UP | DAY FIVE
European Games – Day Five of Action for Team Ireland On day five at the European Games in Krakow, Poland, Irish eyes were fixed on three sports; Boxing, Diving and Shooting. Irish fighters Jenny Lehane, Michaela Walsh, and Kelyn Cassidy all won their opening bouts at these European Games, each progressing to the last […]