Gold medallist Russell Mark is helping a young shooter from Colac in Victoria realise his dream to compete for Australia at the Olympic Games.

Tom Holt, 17, trains with Mark three or four times a year to hone his skills in the elite ranks of trap shooting.

“He’s easy to get along with, he’s easy to understand and he’s helped me heaps,” Holt said.

Mark won gold for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Games. His feats and those of his Olympic teammate Michael Diamond inspired Holt to take up competitive shooting.

“Russell helps me with my technique and other coaches work on the mental side of things particularly concentration,” Holt said.

Holt is tipped to win selection in the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival to be held in Sydney from the 17th- 21st of January.

The shooting will be conducted at the Olympic venue at Cecil Park and the Australians will compete against the best young athletes from Great Britain, India and New Zealand.

“Ever since I’ve been shooting competitively I‘ve been dreaming of the Olympics.”

Holt has already won a silver medal in the team event at the World Junior Championships held in Wagga this year.

As well as receiving tuition from Russell Mark, Holt has also attended training camps run by Olympic coach Greg Chan.

The Australian Youth Olympic Festival is an international event held every two years with funds provided by the Australian Olympic Committee.

Over two-thousand athletes from 20 countries have been invited for January’s event, the fourth time the AOC has hosted the festival.

There are 16 sports on the program for athletes aged from 13 to 19.

Australia will select 740 athletes and officials from all states, China is sending 294, New Zealand 239, Great Britain, 165, South Africa 142 and Japan 140. Other athletes will come from the USA, Canada, France, Germany and other Asian nations.

AOC