High school student Katarina Kowplos leads SA shooters’ Tokyo 2020 Olympics charge, just four years after taking up the sport
Katarina Kowplos is leading a charge of SA shooters vying for Tokyo Olympics selection, just four years after taking up the sport. The high school student can edge closer to a maiden Games berth on home turf this weekend.
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She took up competitive shooting just four years ago and is juggling high school studies with part-time work and a busy training schedule.
But Katarina Kowplos will bid to take a major step towards the Tokyo Olympics when she battles the country’s top talents at her home range this weekend.
The Gulfview Heights athlete will be among eight SA-based shooters in the Australian rifle nomination trial at Wingfield from Saturday-Tuesday.
A strong showing will extend her points lead in the women’s 50-metre three-position standings and put her within touching distance of a maiden Games berth.
“This time four years ago I had only just got into the sport, so it’s a pretty new thing still,” Kowplos, 18, said.
“But it’s a mix of excitement and nerves knowing this can make or break the trials – it’s the culmination of all the effort that I’ve put in.
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“I’d say that I don’t juggle it (commitments) very well, but I’m getting better at it.
“Making the Olympics would mean a lot, because it would show that all those little things I’ve done have gone into something that I’m really proud of.”
Kowplos won the opening trial a fortnight ago to build a 17-point buffer atop the national scoreboard for 3P, a discipline combining kneeling, prone and standing position results.
She will compete in back-to-back rounds on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the final selection event in Sydney next month.
The Golden Grove High student will also line up in the women’s 10-metre air rifle, where she trails fellow teenage Croweater and standings leader Victoria Rossiter by 6.2 points.
Other SA participants in action, as well as Olympic contention, include Alex Hoberg, Emma Adams, Emma Woodroofe, Michael Nicholas and Jack Rossiter.
Queenslander Dane Sampson, now based at West Lakes, will also feature.
Kowplos said a steady supply of strong role models had aided the success of local shooters, many of whom are still classified as juniors.
“We’ve got a really good grassroots area,” said Kowplos, who also works part-time in The Advertiser’s Mile End print centre.
“I see people who are shooting really well, so I want to do that and then somebody might see me shooting well, so they might decide they want to follow me.
“A lot of it is making sure you have mental endurance, so the scores generally level out between senior and junior.
“If you’re doing well at it, it doesn’t matter what your age is because you aren’t really limited by physical factors.”
SA’s Bridgette McKinnon will also take part in the third Olympic nomination trial for trap and skeet shooters in Melbourne this weekend.
The top placegetter in each male and female event will earn a Games berth.