The Paris 2024 Olympics begin soon: meet student Aislin who is representing Australia!
It’s time to get excited as the 2024 Olympics are about to begin next week! We can’t wait to see several Deakin elite-athlete students step up to represent Australia in the 2024 Olympic Games (26 July–11 August) and Paralympic Games (28 August–8 September) in Paris this year.
Here, we meet student Aislin Jones, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin. Aislin will be heading to Paris to compete in the Shooting Women’s Skeet event following the Olympic opening ceremony next Friday.
You made history as the youngest-ever Olympic shooter for your 2016 debut in Rio. How are you feeling in the lead-up to your second Olympic Games in Paris?
I’m incredibly excited and proud to have been selected for my second Australian Olympic Team to compete in Paris. After narrowly missing out on the selection for the 2020 Olympic Team, I am grateful to have earned the opportunity to be back in the green and gold for Paris!
Is your training for the Olympics vastly different to how you prepare for your other competitions (and how so)?
My training in preparation for the Olympics, for the most part, is pretty similar to how I prepare for other international competitions. This involves part-time work (30 hours a week), part-time study, two training sessions on the shooting range, as well as four runs and two strength sessions a week.
It’s important for me to have a balance in life and ensure that I am prioritising my shooting as well as working towards other goals in my career and fitness.
In the last 18 months or so, running has become a big part of my routine. As well as preparing for the Olympics I am also training for my first marathon which I will complete in Paris on 10 August (Marathon Pour Tous). This is a public event on the Olympic marathon course where 20,024 people will run through the city of Paris at night.
How do you stay motivated when preparing for such a large event like the Olympics, which is years of training in the making?
Motivation comes and goes even when training for events like the Olympics, but discipline is what gets me through the tougher training sessions.
The most important thing for me is to remind myself ‘why’ I do things. Your ‘why’ is very personal but it is what drives me.
How did you get into competitive shooting, and what is your favourite thing about your sport?
I first came into the sport when I was 12 years old. My Dad did clay target shooting at a club level and one day I got to have a go. I didn’t hit the first target that I shot at but, from the moment I saw my first one disintegrate, I was hooked.
I watched the London Olympics on TV that year and dreamed of going to the Olympics one day!
I love many things about my sport. I love the friends that I have made and how it has allowed me to travel all over the world, from the pyramids in Egypt to the Colosseum in Italy!
Before you step out to compete, do you have any ritual or way of getting yourself into the zone to perform at your best?
Everybody has different things that they do to prepare themselves for competition. I’m shooting at targets that are moving approximately 90km/hr through the sky, so I need to be ready and switched on from the moment I step out to compete.
My warm-up routine involves throwing two orange balls with a partner, completing a series of different drills to improve my focus and reaction time. These force me to quickly respond in order to catch the ball being thrown and ensure I am ready for competition.
How do you juggle your training with your studies and other commitments?
I am incredibly disciplined and thrive on routine.
Juggling training with study and work has taught me some really valuable time management skills and the importance of planning.
I have everything in my calendar on my phone/laptop from travel, work, training, meetings, uni lectures and assignment due dates. This allows me to visualise what I have on and when I need to start working on assignments to factor in busy periods where I won’t have much time.
Then I plan out my days each week using a time-block system so I can tackle numerous tasks in a day. This is what works best for me.
I’ve also learnt that is important to schedule in intentional downtime and be realistic about what you think you can get done in a day. There is no point planning a big to-do list that is unachievable! Be realistic and set achievable goals.
Stay tuned!
We wish Aislin and the other Deakin students competing at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games all the very best of luck!
Image: Aislin Jones by Matt King/Getty Images.