2013 World Cup silver medallist Catherine Skinner will lead a three-member shooting team at the Kazan (RUS) Summer Universiade in July.
The 23-year-old Victorian Chemical Engineering student will be looking to go one better in the women’s trap following her silver medal at the 2011 Universiade in China.
Skinner, who in her fledgling career has already made a world championship final in 2011, said she was looking forward to the challenge in Russia.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge,” said Skinner, who is currently aiming for Commonwealth Games selection. “If Shenzhen was anything to go by, the competition is going to be world class, so it’s going to be tough to even get into the finals.
“My other events are preparing me for the Universiade. The atmosphere is so different from World Cups because there are so many sports and teams involved.
“It’s quite difficult to remain focused and easy to get distracted and caught up in other peoples successes.”
Along with Skinner, Amanda Holt will also bring plenty of fire power to the range. Holt recently won three national titles including the women’s champion of champions, double-barrel and high gun; finishing the competition in third overall.
The men’s Trap event features rising star Michael McNabb, who will be making his Universiade debut and looking to put up a strong fight to the Chinese who dominated the 2011 event.
McNabb, who is part of Australian International Shooting Limited’s squads that are aiming for success at future international events, including the Olympic Games, will be looking to build on his recent good performance at the World Cup in Al-Ain, where he shot 118 targets from 125 in the qualifying rounds.
The shooting section of the Australian team bound for the Universiade will join a green and gold contingent of more than 200 to compete against athletes from an expected 170 countries in 27 sports. The shooting program, held at the Sviyaga Shooting Range, runs from the 12th-17th July and will have 34 gold medals up for grabs.
The Summer Universiade is held every two years under the banner of the International University Sports Federation. Shooting has been a fixture of the competition schedule since the 2007 Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
27th Summer Universiade
Kazan, Russia
July 6-17 2013
Trap Women
Catherine Skinner (VIC, 23) – RMIT
Amanda Holt (VIC, 26) – Melbourne University
Trap Men
Michael McNabb (NSW, 22)
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