A Plumpton teenager’s decision to take up a new sport 16 months ago has paid big dividends – he’ll be shooting for his country in Ireland in July.
Thomas Armstrong, 15, will represent Australia at the world championship of the down-the-line form of clay target shooting in County Galway, Ireland.
It is an incredible feat considering Thomas only took up the sport on New Year’s Day, 2015.
“Our close family friend, Tony Psaila, invited me along to Walmer Gun Club, where I fired my first shots at a clay target,” Thomas said.
“From that day on it’s all I wanted to do every weekend. I was hooked.”
The Staughton College student won selection through some impressive performances at the Australian National Trap Championship in Wagga Wagga two weeks ago.
Teams were picked based on results of three of the six events – single barrel, double barrel and the point score event. His “very proud” father John said Thomas went through a gruelling selection process with aplomb.
“After shooting every day for seven days …[he] made the top three in juniors to represent Australia,”Mr Armstrong said.
Thomas, a member at Werribee Clay Target Club, where he trains once a week, said he was blown away with the news of his selection.
“I was amazed and shocked at the same time,” he said. “This is definitely the best achievement I have had in this sport so far.”
To support Thomas’ trip, you can contribute to his GoFundMe fundraising page.
