The Australian Shooting Team is in the final stages of preparation before their impending departure to international competition, as the Paris 2024 Olympic nomination and selection process continues.
The 26 athletes that will be competing overseas captures the youngest in the team at the age of 16 to those more experienced and who have competed at multiple Olympic Games. 5 rifle and 10 pistol athletes vying for Olympic selection will start their departures for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this weekend, with 11 shotgun athletes departing for Doha, Qatar in just over a weeks’ time, followed by competition in Baku, Azerbaijan. These events will form the final component of the Olympic nomination process for the Australian athletes.
Pistol and rifle athletes, coaches and support team ready to depart for Rio de Janeiro.
Shooting Australia’s CEO, Adam Sachs, will be travelling with the pistol and rifle teams to Rio and says, “I am excited to be travelling as the Team Manager of such a large group of athletes. 5 rifle athletes and 10 pistol athletes will be competing in the Final Olympic Qualification Championship in Rio de Janeiro. Every effort has been made to put the necessary logistics and funding in place to enable the athletes to focus on their performances. This is a significant component of the Olympic nomination and selection process for our athletes. At the conclusion of competition in Rio, the athlete’s qualification scores, combined with their domestic performances, will tell us who is at the top of the leaderboard in each event, and will progress to Olympic nomination. There is also an opportunity to secure additional quotas for the Australian team to add to the already secured 4 quotas in rifle and 4 quotas in pistol.”
Leading the shotgun team to Doha and Baku, Shooting Australia’s High-Performance Manager, Kathryn Periac, says, “The shotgun athletes are in the final stages of preparation at a three-day pre-departure training camp at Melbourne Gun Club before entering an intense period of competition against the best in the world. The 11 athletes are all striving to finish on top of the nomination leaderboards in their events. Currently we have two quotas in women’s trap, one in women’s skeet and one in men’s skeet, to nominate athletes for. There will be additional quota opportunities in Doha, and we are preparing to optimise the chances of securing one or more additional quotas, including a first in men’s trap. The athletes are well prepared with a great team of coaches and performance staff around them. Our highly talented and focussed athletes are ready to rise and shine again on the international layouts.”
Some of the trap athletes in training at Melbourne Gun Club
Lauryn Mark supporting the skeet athletes with their preparation at Melbourne Gun Club.
The first event in Rio de Janeiro will commence on 12 April and the first event in Doha commencing on 20 April.
Read more about Olympic Nomination Criteria and Leaderboards here.