Clay pigeon shooter crowned world champion with help from Wolverhampton optometrist

Amy Easeman, 24, said she is still in shock after winning the ladies World English Sporting Championship, which was held in High Wycombe in July.

Amy has been working closely with Edward Lyons, co-company director of Flint Optometry, who is an expert in sports vision and sees clients from around the world, along with Premier League footballers, Olympic medallists and members of the Royal Family.

Edward, who works with a network of sports coaches to help athletes boost their vision and performance, learns as much as he can about his clients’ sports to see where and how vision can be improved.

Eight years ago, he started working with Amy, who lives in Buckinghamshire.

Edward said: “When we first met Amy, she had a natural talent and drive for clay pigeon shooting but she felt she was impaired by her vision not being perfect.

“My job as a sports vision consultant is to look at every aspect of her visual performance to give her a professional edge against her competitors. You need elite vision for elite performance. The difference that tiny, micro changes to vision can make is huge.”

Since working with Edward, Amy’s vision with her glasses has improved from 6/6 or 20/20 vision – often called “normal” or “average” vision, which means you can see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision should be able to see at that same distance – to 6/3, which means she can see clearly at six metres what a person with normal 6/6 vision would only see at three metres. 

The areas Edward has focussed on include contrast sensitivity, depth perception, focussing speed, reaction times, peripheral perception span, and multiple object tracking. 

He has also used specialist programmes which anonymously compare Amy’s visual performance against her peers from around the world.

Amy, who also won the Ladies High Gun at the 2025 English Open English Sporting and the ladies’ category at the 2025 Essex Gun Masters, said: “Winning gold at the world championships was an amazing experience and feeling. It’s not really sunk in.

“I’d be nowhere without my glasses. To me, my glasses are just as important as my gun and cartridges and the difference a small change to my glasses can make is massive. 

“It’s definitely worth the two-and-a-half-hour drive from home to see Edward.”

Amy explained how she needs different coloured lenses for different weather conditions to enhance the colour of the clay. Edward worked closely with her to establish which colours work best for her.

He said: “Vision tends to be a passive thing in sports that gets overlooked. 

“Lots of opticians have the qualification but I don't think there are many people using it.”

Edward says his clients fly in from all over the world to access his services, including athletes from Australia, America and Mexico.

Driven by a desire to improve the aesthetics of sports glasses, Edward has even designed his own range of glasses which are now sold globally.