Mitchell's Story
Mitch Iles first started shooting when he was 12 after following his grandfather, Australian shooting legend Billy Iles, into the sport. He went on to compete at his first Australian Championships in early 2015 where he won the junior event after just four months in the trap discipline. He was soon competing at the Junior World Championships where he finished fifth.
Mitch became Australia’s third youngest Olympic shooter in Rio where he shot a qualification score of 110 to miss the semi-final by eight shots and finish 26th.
“I didn’t shoot (in Rio) anywhere near as I’d like to,” Mitch said. “It was as good a learning curve as any and probably the best that I’ve ever had.”
After the Games, Mitch packed away any disappointment and headed to Morocco for the 2016 Universal Trench World Championships where he won the gold medal shooting a world record score.
Two years later, he finished fifth in the men’s trap final at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast after qualifying fourth.
The next year he teamed up with Penny Smith to equal the open mixed trap pairs world record, hitting 149/150 targets, before winning the 2019 Junior World Cup Trap silver medal in Moscow.
After narrowly missing selection for the Tokyo Olympics – and with shooting not included in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – Mitch was determined to remain focussed and was soon back in the Australian team.
“For me, missing out on this Olympic team has probably given me more drive than I ever had in my career,” he says. “It is more fuel for me going forward.”
Mitch’s grandfather Billy, who has guided him throughout his career, was by his side as he competed in a series of Olympic nomination events in 2024.
“Pop has been there since I started,” Mitch said. “He’s helped me all the way and it’s good to still have him here to support me and tell me what I’m doing wrong.”
Mitch started the year well with a win at the ISSF Trap Commonwealth and National Championships in Brisbane, shooting 46 out of 50 in the final. He then won the NSW championship, shooting 47 out of 50 in the final, and finished second at the Yarra Valley Grand Prix. A total selection score of 734 put Mitch second on the Shooting Australia Olympic Team nomination leaderboard, just behind James Willet.
