We are incredibly proud to congratulate Laetisha Scanlan, one of our very own members, who placed fifth in the women’s trap shooting at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games! We’ve been following her journey and are thrilled that she will be sharing more about her Olympic experience with us over the coming weeks.
If you haven’t heard of Laetisha before, here’s what you need to know.
This August, Laetisha (26), from Berwick in Melbourne, took her sporting career to the highest of heights. The young trap shooter achieved what many professional athletes dream of; to represent their country at the Olympic Games.
Laetisha was first introduced to clay shooting by her father at the age of 15. Initially the sport was an excuse for some quality father-daughter bonding time.
“My dad was a recreational clay target shooter and introduced me to the sport, it was a lovely bonding activity that we could both do together and I thank him for getting me involved,” Laetisha said.
Obviously she took to the sport. After 11 years of continually improving her skills, Laetisha is now at her peak and her dream is being realised. Given her dogged persistence it’s no wonder she was selected to compete in ‘trap’ at the Olympics, representing Australia as the sports number one female. Laetisha also went into the games ranked number 6 in the world.
With two Commonwealth Games Gold Medals under her belt, Laetisha is no stranger to the big stage. Despite shooting an Australian record (74/75 targets) midway through 2012, Laetisha just missed out on qualifying for the London Games, making Rio her Olympic debut. This is something she didn’t take lightly and admits that the lead up to the Olympics was a little overwhelming. To help with the nerves and to control her excitement, Laetisha says she approached the Games “like any other event”.
Laetisha has a very supportive family and is an incredibly humble athlete, who is a great role model to others. Balancing her social life while training and competing on the world stage, she has also completed a Bachelor of Communications degree at Monash University. Epitomising health, fitness and wellbeing, Laetisha is also an ambassador for Bully Zero – an organisation that aims to reduce the number of people victimised by bullying.
When asked about her involvement in the program she said: “I have zero tolerance for bullying whether it’s online, in the workplace, on the street or at school. If we can educate children and parents the right and wrong things to say and do to others then I think we can significantly decrease bullying and the negative impact it has on individual’s lives.”
There are many people who are eligible for Defence Health insurance but may not know it. Laetisha’s family is eligible because her mother worked for a Defence contractor.
We support the Australian Defence Force, their families and those who work for Defence contractors and suppliers. Now, we are excited that in this far reaching community we have a young Olympian among our members. Laetisha will also be sharing her experience at the World Cup competition in Baku, Azerbaijan with us. Stay tuned and follow Defence Health on Facebook to follow Laetisha’s journey from Rio and beyond.
