SHOOTING: Russell Mark did more than just win Olympic gold, he put the sport of shooting on the map in Australia with his steady aim and likeable personality – hitting targets on and off the range, now his achievements are being recognised with an induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Through six Olympic Games, including the home Games in Sydney and his golden Games in Atlanta, Russell Mark was a popular member of the team.
From his first appearance in Seoul in 1988 to his swansong at the age of 48 in London in 2012, Mark was an Olympic fixture, so much so that even though he missed selection for Athens in 2004, he still went to the Games as an Athlete Liaison Officer for the Australian Olympic Team.
At Atlanta 1996 Mark won the gold medal in the double trap, setting a world record of 189 points by hitting 48 of 50 targets in the final round. With the win he became the first shotgun shooter to win all four of the world’s major individual titles – the World Cup, the World Cup Final, the World Championship and the Olympics. When he won silver in the double trap at the Sydney Games, he completed the set of silver medals in all four majors as well.
Mark also competed in six Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the Double Trap Pairs at Melbourne 2006, two silver in the Double Trap Singles and Double Trap Pairs at Manchester 2002 and bronze in the Olympic Trap Pairs at the Auckland 1990 Games.
He competed in 22 world championships, winning two individual titles (1994 and 1997) and two team titles (1998 and 1999), as well as six World Cups and 39 Australian Open Championships, the first as a 16-year-old junior competitor when he also set a national scoring record. He had a run of twenty consecutive years from 1988 to 2007 where he won at least one Australian title each year.
In 2009 he was named by the International Shooting Sports Federation as the greatest ever double trap competitor and one of the top 10 greatest marksmen of all time. The same year he was inducted into the Australian Clay Target Association’s Hall of Fame as its youngest ever member. In 1997 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the sport as a gold medallist at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Mark’s exploits will be celebrated at the 35th Induction and Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 10th October 2019 when he is inducted as an Athlete Member of The Sport Australia Hall of Fame and receives one of the highest honours that can be bestowed in Australian sport.
Chair of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee Rob de Castella AO MBE said: “Russell’s domination in his sport is without peer. Olympics, World Championships, World Cups both individual and teams, he’s done it all, and done it again and again at the highest level for nearly a 25 year period. Just incredible.”
Sport Australia Hall of Fame Chair John Bertrand AO said: “To be recognised as the greatest ever in your discipline by your world governing body is the ultimate accolade. A great both on and off the field.”
Mark said the inclusion amongst Australia’s sporting elite is something he would never take for granted.
“It’s not something when you start your sporting career you say your ambition and goal is to be inducted in the Hall of Fame of sport. But once it happens it makes you look back and reflect and it’s a huge honour obviously, but I think without being too much of a cliché it’s probably a great thing for our sport.”
You can learn more about Russell Mark's incredible career and the details of his induction HERE
