By Tara Murray
It’ll be a big couple of months for Plumpton shooter Thomas Armstrong.
The 19-year-old will compete at a third straight Universal Trench World Championships in August, but before that he will represent Australia at the ISSF shotgun World Championships for the first time and compete in the ISSF Junior World Cup.
Armstrong said the schedule would be a challenge, with the different competitions requiring him to shoot in different disciplines.
But he was looking forward to it.
The two disciplines have different speeds and distances of targets.
Armstrong will compete in the ISSF Shotgun World Championships in Lonato Italy starting this week, before heading to Germany for the ISSF Junior World Cup.
These two events will see him shoot in an Olympic discipline, something Armstrong has only just decided to focus on.
“It’s a completely different discipline and I thought it would take me a few years to start making Australian teams.
“I did a few competitions, competing with the best [in Australia]. It has come as a surprise.”
Armstrong said his instant success had given him confidence that he could make the transition into this discipline.
He will try and make the Australian Olympic team later this year.
“It’s a good stepping stone and I’m already competing at a high level.
“It’s a good lead-up to the Olympic trials … I’ll see how I go.”
After competing in Italy and Germany, Armstrong will compete at the Universal Trench World Championships in France.
Armstrong tasted individual success in 2017 at the same event, while he’s also won team gold there.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said.
“We won gold in the teams last year, but I didn’t go so well in the individual event.
“I’m hungry for it and I know what I have to shoot. Now I need to come back stronger and harder. I’m feeling confident and have been practicing a lot, it’s whether I can put it all together.”
Armstrong, a member of the Werribee Victorian Clay Target Shooting Club, said for now he would continue to shoot both disciplines, depending on schedules and competition dates.
Armstrong said he couldn’t have made both teams without the support of his friends, family and sponsors.
