Road to Rio: Scanlan has sights set on Olympic glory

Having already won several international trap-shooting medals, Laetisha Scanlan has her sights set on success at the upcoming Rio Olympics.

Laetisha Scanlan

Source: SBS

Laetisha Scanlan, 26, is ranked sixth in the world in the discipline of trap shooting - and she's got her target set on success at August's Rio Olympics.

She's won multiple Commonwealth Games gold medals, several World Cups and also broken Australian records.

Despite this success, her slight physique garners some strange looks at the shooting range.

"I think because I'm so short and small people don't expect me to be holding an 8kg shotgun," she said.

The baby-faced competitor was introduced to the sport by her father who is also a clay shooter.

"After I hit one target I was absolutely addicted," she said.

"When I started beating my Dad I said you might as well retire now, I'm the new Scanlan on the team."

That addiction led to gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in the trap pairs, as well as an individual gold medal in Glasgow four years later.

She's now set for her Olympic debut in Rio.
Shooting can be considered a male-dominated sport, but Scanlan said it's anything but a boys club.

"I feel like a lot of the shooters do realise it is a male-dominated sport and they encourage women to do it," she said.

"I always felt supported."

Her skills with a shotgun are not without some romantic consequences.

"I get so many boyfriend jokes," he said.

"'That's why you don't have a boyfriend Laetisha, your dad shoots and you shoot', I just get it all the time."

Scanlan's coach Valeriy Timohkin is confident she'll be breaking the hearts of her fellow competitors in Rio, saying she possesses the mental stamina for competition.
"I'm just going to go there, trust in my ability that I've done enough over the last four years to have a chance at medalling."
"Every body can be technically good, but not mentally," she said.

"It is all a question about how shooters can manage themselves during stress and every competition is stress."

It wasn't until the late 1960s that women were allowed to compete in Olympic shooting events.

Since that period, Australia has produced one female gold medallist in trap shooting, when Suzy Balogh stood atop the podium at the 2004 Athens Games.

Laetisha Scanlan is aiming to become the second to win gold.

"I'm just going to go there, trust in my ability that I've done enough over the last four years to have a chance at medalling," he said.

And with a degree in journalism up her sleeve, Scanlan said she's keeping her options open for the future.

"Let's wait and see what happens in Rio, I might get a job as a weather lady, you never know," she said.

"Probably I'll shoot until 2020 and then make my mind up, but I would love to get into journalist and be asking the questions for once."

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3 min read

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By Abby Dinham


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