SHOOTING: Junior Double Trap athlete James Willett who is only 19 has set a Junior World Record in qualifying with 142/150 targets at his first ever International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Al Ain, UAE, overnight.
Shooting alongside some of the best athletes in the world, including Olympians and World Cup medallists, in a field that could well have mirrored an Olympic final, Willett qualified in second place for the final. In a brilliant final’s effort by the young Australian debutant, he shot 23/30 targets, narrowly missing out on the bronze medal match, and the chance to win an Olympic quota for Australia.
Willett, from Corowa in New South Wales rose to fame last year, when he won the 2014 World Junior Down the Lane Championship in New Zealand, after winning two of their national championships. He also won a silver medal at the Junior Universal Trench Championship in Lonato, Italy, last year.
He had his first taste of being part of an Olympic Team when he drove four hours with his father to attend the Melbourne IGNITE the dream session for Rio hopefuls in late January. Motivating legend Laurie Lawrence singled out James and his father as part of his speech to the room. His father had spent $75,000 for a purpose-built range with an entire Double Trap layout on the farm so he can practise daily. And it is certainly paying off.
Shooting Australia CEO Damien Marangon said that Willett was definitely one to watch out for.
“James has come to his first ISSF World Cup and shot an incredible score. He matched it with the best shooters in the world, set a new junior world record and let the senior men know that there is a new kid on the block,” Marangon said.
National Coaching Director for the Australian Clay Target Association Suzy Balogh said she was happy to see Australia’s Winning Edge strategy working well.
“It is exciting to see a young, dedicated junior come through the system and fire up at a World-Class level. James is a quiet, unassuming person, with an incredible focus. He has shot a score in Double Trap that we have not seen in Australia in a very long time, which puts him in the class of our elite shooters,” Balogh said.
Still to compete at the ISSF World Cup is Commonwealth Games Skeet Champion Laura Coles (Hocking, WA), who will be in action on 27 March.
Follow the ISSF World Cup here: http://www.issf-sports.org
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