Tokyo-bound medal contender James Willett has changed disciplines and built an Olympic-standard trap shooting range at home since finishing fifth at Rio 2016.
Among the thousands of Olympians taking the longer-than-normal road between competing at Rio and Tokyo, few have been forced to find a new event.
Australian sharpshooter James Willett, having emerged from such a transition to become a contender for two medals at the 2021 Games, is in an even more select group.
Willett qualified for the Rio double trap final with an Olympic record score, finished fifth then was told later in 2016 that his discipline was being wiped from the Games as part of the push for gender equality.
The 25-year-old, who is mentored by Russell Mark, recalibrated.
Willett successfully embraced the change and will seek to secure gold in both men’s trap and team trap in Toyko, where he will partner Laetisha Scanlan after their World Cup win in 2019.
The Olympic-standard trap shooting range, worth approximately $250,000 and completed in 2020 with help from sponsors, at his family farm in the Riverina underlines the dedication of a man on a mission.
“Double we shot at two targets. Olympic trap we get one target at a time and the targets are quicker,” Willett told AAP.
“They’ve both very difficult, just different technically.
“It did come as a shock after Rio. It was hard for all of us around the world, there’s maybe two of three of us who have made their respective Olympic teams in trap. I had age on my side.
“Russell (Mark) was great support, he coached me in both disciplines. I was pretty lucky to have him.”
Willett will arrive in Tokyo shouldering great expectations, determined to become Australia’s first male shooter to claim Olympic gold since Michael Diamond in 2000.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it hard to plot form but Willett’s qualifying score of 125 out of 125 at a World Cup win in 2019, when he became the only Australian to achieve the faultless feat outside Diamond, is a sign of his calibre.
“Going into Rio I was world No.1, so there was obviously a lot of medal expectations and stuff back then,” Willett said.
“Similar to what there will be in Tokyo. Laetisha and I are world champions, so we’ll be medal favourites in that as well I guess.
“Rio was disappointing but it was my first Olympics. It was a good experience, I learned a lot.
“The environment is just a lot different to other competitions. There’s a lot of distractions outside your sport that you can get caught up in.”
Willett and teammates have been starved of international competition over the past 15 months, while interstate border closures and lockdowns have made it harder to arrange and attend domestic events.
The backyard range constructed by Willett and his dad Arthur has been a life-changing addition, allowing him to train whenever he wants.
“We finished it in March, right before COVID hit,” Willett said.
“I pretty much kept training right through.
“I held a couple of competitions on the range, when I was able to. We’ve had some of the Olympic team up training, it’s been nice.”
Willett predicted that being in lockdown while isolating at the Olympic village “will be the hardest part” of Tokyo 2021 restrictions.
It is a price he is happy to pay in pursuit of the dream he has harboured since childhood, when he idolised Mark.
It is apt that Mark, who competed at six Olympics and won gold at Atlanta, will remain a sounding bound and source of support via Zoom and calls as Willett adjusts to the biosecurity bubble.
“It’s been great having Russell on my team. The knowledge and experience he has is invaluable,” he said.
“We speak a lot, he helps me through all the ups and downs.
“He always talks about following the process, not focusing on what you can’t control.”
It is a mantra that ensured Willett successfully reset his target – and will remain vital if he is to hit them in Japan.