Britain’s new clay pigeon shooting champion has revealed the secret of his success – laser eye surgery.
Brett Winstanley, a former youth champion, recently triumphed in the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA) British Open Sporting Championship, one of the most prestigious titles in the sport. It was his first major tournament title since undergoing laser eye surgery at Optical Express.
“My shooting has definitely improved since having laser eye surgery and I’m in no doubt it contributed to my British Open win. My score was unbelievable – it was off the chart,” Brett said.
The talented 24-year-old from Powfoot in Scotland claimed the High Gun prize on a score of 116 out of 120, a three target lead on the runner-up in a field of more than 1,000 entrants at the end of August. He has set his sights on a number of 2015 world titles and a place in the Great Britain clay pigeon shooting team.
Brett, who now lives in Preston, Lancashire, was diagnosed as short-sighted at the age of 18. Despite shooting from the age of six and winning multiple shooting titles as a youth, he struggled to compete while wearing glasses.
“Wearing glasses put me off,” said Brett. “There was a glare on the target and I could see the rims of my glasses when looking down my gun. I also couldn’t wear safety glasses because I already had glasses on.
“Now I can pinpoint the target and see for hundreds of yards.”
Prior to taking the British championship by storm, the shooter had been on a break from the sport to try his hand at motor racing. During this period he had laser eye surgery at Optical Express’s clinic in Manchester’s Trafford Centre. He was treated in March 2014 by ophthalmic surgeon Faqir Qazi, who has performed more than 46,000 refractive procedures worldwide during his career.
“I wasn’t worried at all about having surgery,” Brett said. “I asked the surgeon if it hurts and he said no. That was good enough for me!”
He estimates it took about three days for his eyes to recover. “After a few days things began to look really different,” he said, “and best of all, my eyesight continued to improve. Now my vision is better than 20/20 which is hard to believe after being so short-sighted that I depended on my glasses all day long.”
Richard Whitworth, manager of the Trafford Centre Optical Express clinic, said: “It’s great to hear that laser eye surgery has had such a positive impact on Brett’s life.
“As his success has shown, the excellent visual outcomes delivered by laser eye surgery can be a game changer for patients. There’s a good reason why laser eye surgery is one of the world’s most popular elective procedures.”
Brett added: “Since winning the Open my life has changed. I’ve got new goals, I’ve attracted new sponsors and I’m in demand as a coach all over the UK and Europe.
“I’m incredibly happy with the quality of my sight and can’t thank Optical Express enough for helping my shooting career to get back on track.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For further information or images regarding Optical Express services please contact oepr@bigpartnership.co.uk or call Charlene Sweeney on 0141 333 9585.
About Optical Express:
The Optical Express Group was founded in 1991 and is now a global leader of selected healthcare services.
Worldwide, Optical Express surgeons have together performed over 2 million refractive surgery procedures and their ophthalmic surgeons have a combined surgical experience of over 1,000 years. They treat more patients than all other laser eye surgery providers combined, as confirmed in the UK Government Competition Commission Report, November 2013.
In a recent survey of over 252,179 Optical Express patients, over 99% said they would recommend Optical Express to their family and friends.
In a study completed in September 2014 of nearly 336,381 Optical Express patients, over 99% achieved 20/20 vision or better following treatment.
The company employs over 2,000 people, utilising ophthalmologists and optometrists across more than 160 locations throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Croatia, Germany and The Netherlands.
