Dean’s a junior shooting star

By Josh Huntly

Dec 15, 2022

Talent recognised: Echuca’s Kiara Dean has been named Shooting Australia’s Junior Athlete of the Year. Photo: Steve Huntley Photo by Steve Huntley

Kiara Dean’s outstanding run on the international clay target shooting stage was recognised at Shooting Australia’s night of nights with its highest junior accolade

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A member of SA’s high performance program, the 20-year-old clay target prodigy from Echuca was named SA’s Junior Athlete of the Year at the Awards of Excellence last Saturday night.

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This comes after a stellar 2022 on the world stage for Australia, including a maiden international gold medal at the International Sport Shooting Federation world championships in Croatia.

“I’d like to thank the other athletes within our team,” Dean said.

“Going overseas, I’m really lucky to have such supportive teammates, I couldn’t do it without them.”

Dean confirmed her status as one of the rising stars of Australian clay target with her Croatian gold, and a pair of silver medals at the ISSF Junior World Championships in Germany rounded out a strong year.

Dean now moves into senior competition, with an upcoming tournament in South Africa her next assignment.

By Josh Huntly