Kiara Dean’s preparations for the International Sport Shooting Federation Junior World Shotgun Championships received the perfect boost at the weekend.
Due to fly out to Suhl, Germany, on Thursday, Dean bid bon voyage by adding another state title to her collection.
The up-and-coming Australian shooting talent took out the Victorian ISSF State Trap Championship at the Melbourne Gun Club, shooting a personal best in a hotly contested final to take the win.
With the pressure on, Dean delivered, shooting 28 of 35 targets in the women’s medal match to claim victory from National Pathways squad members Molly Bretag (25/35) and Georgia Pistone (15/25).
“It’s pretty exciting to win. It was a really good final that we shot,” Dean said.
“I shot a personal best which was awesome. It was a good confidence booster heading into Germany.
“Finals are very different to your normal events. They’re single-barrel, so they’re what we call a high-stress environment.
“There’s music playing, people watching and cameras in your face.
“We usually get quite a few people standing in the background watching.”
The pressure didn’t seem to faze the 21-year-old, with Dean keeping her cool in an elimination shoot-out.
“After 10 targets, one person gets eliminated, then every five another person gets eliminated until there are two people standing,” Dean said.
“Then you get another 10 and then the final person takes the prize.”
In qualifying, Dean was equally cool, calm and collected, shooting 109/125 to highlight a consistent performance.
It’s another state title for Dean’s trophy cabinet after saluting at the NSW ISSF Shotgun State Championships in Newcastle in April 2021.
There, Dean made waves after fending off competition from Tokyo Olympic team shooters Laetisha Scanlan and Penny Smith.
While Dean couldn’t emulate the feat at the 2022 event in early April, a fourth-place finish and victory at Melbourne could prove crucial.
The Victorian state titles, in tandem with NSW and Queensland events, will allow competitors to once again put qualifying scores forward for Australian teams bound for the Shotgun World Championships in Osijek, Croatia, between September 22 and October 11.
“It would be incredible to qualify and make every (event) that I’m eligible for,” Dean said.
“It would be a really positive finish to the year.”
But now, Dean’s immediate attention turns to Suhl.
After missing out on last year’s Peru Junior World Championships due to COVID-19 conditions in the country, Dean is bound for Germany as a member of Australia’s junior contingent set to compete from May 9-20.
Dean has also qualified to shoot in three disciplines for Australia, including the trench, universal trench and down-the-line.