Shooting Australia has today confirmed that Russell and Lauryn Mark will join Renae Birgan (Olympic Athlete Coach) and Deserie Baynes (Olympic Team Coach) to support and enhance the preparation of the Australian Shooting Team leading into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Russell, a 6 time Olympian and dual Olympic medallist (Gold in Atlanta 1996 and Silver in Sydney 2000) and his wife Lauryn, a two-time Olympian, and Commonwealth Games medallist (Gold and Silver in Melbourne 2006), will work closely with Renae and Deserie, complimenting their notable expertise and experience in the clay target shooting sport. Russell will be engaged as a specialist consultant coach for the Men’s Trap Team, while Lauryn’s focus will be on the Skeet Mixed Team.
With the domestic component of the Paris 2024 Olympic nomination process now complete, 12 shotgun athletes (3 Men’s Trap, 3 Women’s Trap, 3 Men’s Skeet and 3 Women’s Skeet) who have been selected based on their top 3 positions on the leaderboard, will now commence their preparation for two international competition opportunities as they continue their Olympic campaigns.
Shooting Australia’s CEO Adam Sachs says, “We are delighted to have Russell and Lauryn join our very capable Shotgun national team staff. Their knowledge and experience will enhance Shooting Australia’s ability to optimise its support for our best shotgun athletes between now, and in Paris. Russell’s engagement with our Men’s Trap athletes will be critical to Australia securing the quota that until now has eluded us in this event.”
Adam continued, “Russell will also work closely with Renae and Deserie, and High-Performance Manager, Kathryn Periac, on the planning and delivery of shotgun training camps leading into both Doha and the Games. He will travel with the Australian Team to provide technical support to the Men’s Trap athletes in Doha, before World Cup’s in Baku in May, and Lonato in June. We are appreciative of Russell’s collaborative approach and his passion for the continued success of the Australian Shooting Team.”
Of his new role as a Consultant Coach Russell says “It was an honor to represent my country as an athlete and now it is time for me to give back to the Australian team in a coaching capacity. We have some amazing talent in Australia with our Women’s Trap Team being some of the best competitors in the world.”
“We currently do not have a Men’s Trap quota and I am hopeful that my longstanding experience in this sport, both as an athlete and a coach, and as a six-time Olympian, proves beneficial to the Men’s Trap team and we can achieve the goal of not one, but hopefully two quotas towards the Paris Games. I am excited to be working very closely with Mitch Iles, James Willett and Thomas Grice over the next couple of months. All three have had a great start to the year in domestic competition, and internationally, James secured a World Cup bronze medal in Morocco.”
Russell and Lauryn will start working with the Men’s Trap and Skeet Mixed Team athletes at a Shotgun Team training camp that will be held in Melbourne in April, prior to the teams’ departure for Doha.
