BENDIGO skeet shooter Connor O'Brien has earned his first national selection having made the Australian team for the upcoming Oceania Championships.
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The Oceania Championships will be held in Brisbane from October 30 to November 6, with 20-year-old O'Brien among an Australian team of 61 that has been selected.
O'Brien is one of five shooters picked to compete in the men's skeet along with Frank Morris, Joshua Bell, Elie Lahoud and Doyle Yoannidis.
"It has been a goal of mine to make the team, so I'm really excited," O'Brien said at the weekend.
"It will be my first time representing Australia, so I can't wait."
For O'Brien, earning a berth in the Australian team for the Oceania Championships is the next step on his ultimate goal of competing at the Olympic Games.
His selection in the Australian team continues a big 12 months for O'Brien, who earlier in the year won a pair of under-21 medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation Skeet National (silver) and Commonwealth (bronze) Championships held in Perth.
The Oceania Championships is the premier shooting event in the Oceania region and will provide opportunities for competitors to win Paris 2024 Olympic quota places across the pistol, rifle and shotgun disciplines.
"We have selected the best shooting talent in Australia to compete for Olympic quotas in every discipline and event," Shooting Australia high performance manager Kathryn Periac said.
"The outcomes from this Oceania Championships will play a significant role in shaping the size and composition of the Australian shooting team in Paris.
"Our athletes have been very focused in their preparations and will be well supported by Shooting Australia's national coaches and support staff, leading to strong performances in Brisbane at the end of the month."
O'Brien took up competitive shooting in 2019. His introduction to the sport was in Down The Line clay target shooting, starting as a C grade junior before quickly advancing to AA grade.
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