Teen shooting star Mitchell Iles guns for Rio Olympic trap gold after selection fight

INSPIRED by his world champion grandfather young gun Mitchell Iles is out to make up for lost time after winning his battle for Olympic shooting selection.

Mitchell Iles backed himself after putting up some brilliant scores and was rewarded with Rio Olympic selection. Picture: Adam Elwood

SHOTGUN shooter Mitchell Iles says grandfather Bill never went to an Olympics because the tattoos he sported made him look like a criminal.

Bill is a 29-time national champion and world champion who became Iles’ father-figure and coach when his dad walked out.

The sense of injustice over Australian selection has remained strong in the Iles family, so when 17-year-old Mitchell was overlooked for Rio the solution was obvious.

According to the rising star of Australian shooting he had shot better scores than Olympic legend Michael Diamond and Adam Vella.

So he went ahead and appealed despite Diamond’s glittering resume – one that aside for a London 2012 meltdown should have listed three Olympic golds.

His appeal went as far as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a saga that ran parallel with Diamond’s potential ejection from the team on drink driving charges.

Finally when Shooting Australia kicked out Diamond, the teenager was left standing.

Iles became an Australian Olympic team member only a month before Rio, but is intent on making up for lost time.

“I’m very excited. Obviously I am not too sure what will happen over here but I will try to put the score on the board and hopefully get a medal,” he said.

Iles and teammate Adam Vella take to the range tonight (10.30pm AEST) for qualification.

“I went to a junior world cup last year and finished fourth after qualifying first for the final, then went to the Qatar Open against everyone who will be at the Olympics and qualified first for the final and finished fourth,” Iles said.

“Obviously I was quite disappointed (with my non-selection) but I asked mum what she thought and pop too and we decided to appeal it.”

If Iles’ drama-packed entree to Rio is amazing in itself, his meteoric rise to contention is just as surprising.

The junior prodigy from northeast Melbourne only switched to the trap discipline in January 2015.

The conjecture around his qualifying centred on the specific qualifying periods and scores posted within them but his raw talent was never in doubt.

“I suppose it has been a long way, never knowing what the outcome will be, but I am glad the right decision was made,’’ he said.

“Not many 17-year-olds get to go to the Olympics, so I was pretty happy.”

Originally published as Teen shooting star Mitchell Iles guns for Rio Olympic trap gold after selection fight