Aislin Jones

Aislin Jones ( ; born 8 February 2000) is an Australian women's skeet shooter. She won the Australian National Championship in January 2016, becoming the youngest woman ever to hold that title. She is the current Oceania Region Junior Women's Skeet Record holder.

Education

In 2018 Jones is completed her Victorian Certificate of Education at Nagle College in Bairnsdale, Victoria Australia.

After an extended gap year during which Jones competed internationally and studied a Cert IV in Fitness with FitNation, she commenced a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University which she is undertaking part time on a part sports scholarship.

Career

Early and domestic

Jones developed an interest in shooting while following her father David Jones, around the Bairnsdale Field and Game clay target range from an early age. She started shooting in 2012 and switched from simulated field to skeet later that year. Jones competed in her first Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) national championships at the age of 13, held at Wagga Wagga in 2013. The following year Jones won six medals at the ACTA national championships at Wagga Wagga and the National Women's Champion of Champions in the mixed 12 gauge/20 gauge event with a score of 99/100.

In late 2014 Jones switched from American Skeet to ISSF skeet in order to achieve her Olympic and Commonwealth Games aspirations. At her first competitive ISSF skeet shoot in October 2014, she won the Victorian Ladies' Championship at Werribee Clay Target Club.

International

In 2015 Jones competed in her first international competition, finishing 23rd in the junior world championships and 6th in the ISSF junior cup. In early 2016 she became the youngest winner of the Australian National Skeet Championship at the age of 15.

Jones represented Australia in Women's Skeet at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, finishing in 17th place. Jones was the second youngest Australian athlete, and the youngest of the 390 shooting athletes from around the world. At 16 years of age, she was also the youngest Australian shooter ever to compete at any Olympic Games.

In October 2017 Jones broke the Oceania Women's Skeet, junior and senior records and in January 2018, at the Australian Nationals in Echuca she won the Commonwealth championship, Australian Championship and High Gun.

In March 2018 she won her first ISSF gold medal at the Junior World Cup in Sydney.

Jones has been named in the Australian shooting team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and finished 6th, after finishing second in the qualifying round.

Competing at ISSF Junior World Championships in 2018 in Changwon (9th), 2019 in Lonato (11th) rounded out her international junior career without the opportunity to compete during COVID interruptions to international travel. During the COVID period where international travel and competition was particularly difficult for Australians Jones competed at state and national championships when able.

Returning to international competition and moving from junior to open competition Jones competed at the 2022 & 2023 World Championships in Osijek & Baku finishing 33rd & 27th respectively.

Jones achieved Qualifying Ranking Points for the Paris Olympic Games at each of the ISSF World Cups attended during the Paris Qualifying Ranking period.

In November 2023 Jones won the gold medal at the ISSF Oceania Regional Championships in Brisbane attaining a quota place for the Paris 2024 Olympics for Australia.

The selection series run by Shooting Australia to determine the athlete nominated to compete for Australia at the Paris Olympics was conducted from January 2024 to May 2024. Commencing with two events at the Australian National Championships in Brisbane, it included the NSW Clay Target Association State Championships in February 2024 and the domestic series concluded with the Yarra Valley Grand Prix at Melbourne Gun Club in Victoria. At the conclusion of the domestic series Jones had a 6 point lead over Laura Coles from Western Australia.

The top three athletes from the domestic series progressed to the ISSF Olympic Qualification Championship in Doha, Qatar and the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. At the Doha event Jones placed 27th but added 5 points in the Australian selection series to take her lead to 11 over Coles and 40 points over Britany Melbourne.

At her first ISSF World Cup for 2024 in Baku, Jones finished 8th. Adding a further 14 points to her selection total at this event Jones finished 25 points clear of Coles and 58 points ahead of Melbourne, securing her nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee for her second Olympic Team to represent Australia in Paris. The team will be announced on 27 June.

Personal life

Jones grew up in Lakes Entrance, in southeast Victoria. Her parents still reside in Lakes Entrance and she returns home for coaching with father David at Bairnsdale Field and Game, and Bairnsdale Clay Target Club. During COVID Jones built a house in Leongatha with her partner and moved to South Gippsland, closer to university, her coach Lauryn Mark and Melbourne Airport.

When not competing, Jones enjoys distance running and aims to participate in her first marathon in 2024.

Awards

* Gippsland Sports Academy Gippstar Award 2017.
* East Gippsland Shire Young Citizen of the Year 2018, for outstanding contribution to her sport.

References

External links

* of TeamAislin.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Aislin
Skeet shooters
Australian female sport shooters
2000 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic shooters for Australia
21st-century Australian sportswomen
Shooters at the 2024 Summer Olympics