Australian shooting team member Katarina Kowplos ready for Tokyo Olympics after long wait

It’s been more than a year since Katarina Kowplos qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but the teenage SA shooter says the long-waiting has been a blessing in disguise.

Waiting more than a year to attend your first Olympics would be torture for most athletes but for SA teenager Katarina Kowplos it’s been a blessing in disguise.

The 19-year-old shooter qualified for Tokyo in April, 2020 and has been quietly honing her craft since.

And – with just a month until the Games – the Gulfview Heights young gun is firing on all cylinders.

Last month she took out Open 10m Air Rifle final at the Target Rifle South Australia Championships with a gold medal score of 251.0 points.

SA shooter Katarina Kowplos has been in fine touch in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics. Picture: Emma Brasier.

Her display was so impressive it would have won silver at the 2018 World Championships.

Kowplos said “in a weird way” the Games being delayed by the Covid pandemic worked in her favour.

“Since I wasn’t expecting to make this Olympics, because I was aiming for Paris (in 2024), so having the extra year has been extremely helpful in some ways,” Kowplos said.

“In that year I’ve gotten a different piece of equipment and definitely worked a lot with coaching to improve as much as I can.

“(The win last month) definitely boosted my confidence considering how little competition we’ve had in the last year on the international stage.

“So it felt really nice to get that under my belt.”

Kowplos will compete in one of two Australian teams in the Mixed 10 Air Rifle Teams event plus the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position event at the July Olympics.

The Para Shooting Club member said she was “pumped” for the controversial Games and was hopeful the event would still go ahead.

Kowplos, 19, studies software development at UniSA while also working part-time and will have a packed schedule in the lead up to the Games. Picture: Emma Brasier

However, Kowplos said she did not have any medal expectations for her maiden Olympics but rather will look to use the experience to prepare herself for a serious assault at future Games.

“I’m just wanting to do as well as I can on the day and prepare myself mentally for, hopefully, future Olympics,” she said.

“I’ve been given this opportunity to attend earlier than I expected to.”

Kowplos, who studies software development at UniSA while also working part-time, will have a packed schedule in the lead up to Tokyo.

“I don’t get much sleep,” she said.

“It’s not exactly a well-planned out schedule but it’s working for now in the run up to Tokyo, then I’m going to get all my sleep back in quarantine.

Kowplos will complete her university exams before heading to Brisbane for a team camp and then finally to the Japanese capital in July.

Fellow South Australians Alex Hoberg and Jack Rossiter will also be part of the Australian team competing in Tokyo.