James Willett proves world class

AT the first ISSF international shotgun event for the Australian team since 2019, world number four and dual Olympian James Willett was out to prove he is still one of the best. Competing at the Cyprus World Cup at the weekend in both the individual Men's Trap and Trap Mixed Teams event with Tokyo Olympic team partner Laetisha Scanlan, the Wangaratta Gun Club member made a significant presence, reacclimatising himself to competing abroad. Despite cold and windy conditions that at times resulted in Willett's hands aching, he pushed through sustaining his focus and trusting his process throughout qualification for Men's Trap. Finishing the individual event with a qualifying score of 119 out of 125 targets, Willet equalled qualification with Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia and Matthew John Coward–Holley of Gibraltar. After a 'miss and out' shoot off between the three tied athletes, Willet finished with an overall qualification ranking of 4th, landing himself a spot in semi final 2. At the conclusion of the semi finals, Willett shot a score of 22 out of 25 targets, progressing through to the medal match. After an additional series of 15 targets, Willet hitting 12, he narrowly missed a medal, securing 4th place. Onto the Trap Mixed Teams event and the experienced World Champion duo of Willett and Scanlan were looking to add to their previous international team successes. Scoring a team total of 135 out of 150 targets and the 4th ranked qualifiers, Willett and Scanlan landed themselves a place in the semi finals. With a team total of 42 out of 50, and the top scoring team in their semi final, they progressed through to the gold medal match where they met the Turkish team. After a nail biting match, resulting in both teams tying on five points each, the two teams entered a sudden death shoot off where Willett and Scanlan secured the silver medal. It was the first World Cup Willett had attended in two years due to the pandemic. "It's good to be back on the road and good to be back competing," he said. "It's really good to be out shooting the medal match with Teash. "We've come away with the silver medal obviously and it was good to be back under that competition environment breaking a few targets, it was good." Wilett said conditions during the shoot were challenging. "It was the coldest I've ever fired a gun in, and I had snow landing on me," he said. "My hands were in a lot of pain during the first round and I'm glad it was all over." Willett's next international competition will be at the Lonato, Italy World Cup in April, 2022. For full results from Cyprus visit: https://www.issf–sports.org/competitions/venue/results.ashx?cshipid=3023.

James Willett proves world class

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