Alexis Preston has shot up the ranks of Australian clay target shooting quickly.
The 16-year-old took up the sport four years ago yet is already regarded as being among the country’s best.
Preston has returned home to Werribee South from Marrakesh in Morocco, where she was one of three members of the Australian women’s team in the Universal Trench World Championships that brought home a gold medal.
Her teammates, Amanda Holt and Anna Shedrina, are both aged in their 30s.
“It was definitely pretty cool,” Preston said. “It was more special because I’m so young … they’ve shot for many years but I’ve been shooting for four. I’m proud of myself.”
In the championships, Preston and her teammates shot at trench targets, which come from the ground, hitting 564 of the 600 targets.
The MacKillop Catholic Regional College student grew up watching her dad shoot, developing an interest in the sport herself.
A member of the Werribee Gun Club, she and her father train weekly. Looking to the future, Preston is aiming high.
“I’m hoping to get into the Commonwealth Games for 2018,” she said.
