Willett’s display a Tokyo boost
Willett, who will compete at his second Olympic Games in Tokyo in July, entered the six-man final as the fifth qualifier but withstood the pressure to hit 45 of 50 targets in the final to defeat Victorians Todd Malone (42/50) and Joey Yarak (32/40).
It was Willett’s first Performance Series victory of the year after he was placed third at the Yarra Valley Grand Prix in March.
Willett missed his opening target in the final on Sunday but was flawless in his next 19 shots to take a two-target lead over Malone at the half-way mark and maintained a decisive lead for the remainder of the event.
“I was happy with the final and came away with a decent score in the end,” Willett said.
“Conditions were good, but it’s one of the tougher ranges to compete.”
Willett was unconcerned with his low ranking in the final which could have seen him eliminated had he tied with another higher ranked athlete at the elimination stages.
“It didn’t really affect me. You go out to hit as many targets as you can and, if you do that, the bib number doesn’t come into play,” he said.
Rio Olympian James Willett displayed his class to overcome a low qualification ranking to capture the men’s Trap gold medal in the Victorian ISSF Shotgun Championships in Echuca last Sunday.