Wolfpack Alumnus Still Shooting For Olympic Gold

NC State graduate Lucas Kozeniesky qualified for his second Olympics in February, but because of the postponement of the Tokyo Games, he's going to have to wait another year for his shot at gold in the 10-meter air rifle

Lucas Kozeniesky began preparing for this summer's Tokyo Olympics before he even stepped off the range from his competition in the last Games at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

He had just finished 21st in the 10-meter air rifle event and while he was disappointed with his performance, the experience of representing his country motivated the then-NC State undergraduate to get back to the Olympics for another shot (pun intended).

Kozeniesky earned that opportunity on Feb. 9, when he when he finished first at the Olympic Trials in Colorado Springs, tying the relay world record in the process with a score of 633.5. But while his spot on the U.S. team is secure, his Olympic encore will have to wait a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Games, which were originally scheduled for this summer, have been postponed for a year until late July 2021. 

Here's what the now 24-year-old former Wolfpack All-American had to say about the postponement, his first Olympic experience and his quest for gold this time around ...

“We had an idea that is was going to be postponed, maybe two days before it actually happened. One of the contingency plans they released, we were told ‘FYI, this is what is likely to happen just so you’re prepared.’

“Actually, I think it’s a good thing to get it postponed for a bunch of reasons, but really just for public safety as far as travel, making sure everyone can get there and have a good time, athletes preparing or whatever. I think it just makes more sense.

Because shooters aren't as dependent as athletes such as runners or swimmer are on peaking physically for major competitions, Kozeniesky said that he's not as bothered by the Olympic postponement as others might be.

“In my boat, in the USA Shooting boat, we had a lot of World Cups and other international competitions were were gearing up for leading up to the Games that were happening this year. As February turned to March and mid-March, they all started getting canceled. So all of a sudden our first competition of the new year was going to be the Olympics itself. So having it postponed was probably a blessing in disguise.”

Despite the postponement, Kozeniesky said he's been told that his spot on the U.S. team is safe ...

“We’ve been told that the Olympians that have made the team are going to keep their spots on the team. I think there’s actually two different votes for that. The first one is the quotas that the IOC has named. That is 15 Americans that are already on the team. I earned a quota at the Pan Am Games, but I earned that quota at the Olympic Trials a couple of weeks ago. 

"There’s about 60 people across different sports that are in that same boat. But the (National Governing Boards) have said across the board that the people that have already made the team are going to keep their spots. That’s what I’m rolling with now, that I’m on the team and I’m going.”

Kozeniesky now lives and trains in Colorado Springs, where the U.S. Olympic Training Center is located. But with that now shut down, like most other public places, he's had to find creative ways to stay sharp.

“Right now I don’t have range access, which is okay. I have the ability to dry fire and there’s a training device called SCATT I can use in my house without actually firing pellets or bullets. So I’m able to use that for some time and I’m able to do (physical) workouts that can keep me maintained until this whole crisis comes to the point where we can get back to the training center. As of right now we’re on Day 10 of closure of the Olympic Training Center. It closed a couple weeks ago, so I’m without the ability to actually fire the rifle.”

Kozeniesky said that he learned a lot from his first Olympic experience  ...

“I did okay. I made a lot of mistakes. I ended up 21st, but the difference between where I finished and the cut to make the finals was about two points, which is easily attainable. By the time I finished the match and I looked at the scoreboard I realized I was and how easy it would have been for me to make the final with the mistakes I made, I already made up my mind about this Olympics. So it’s been pretty much game on from then until now.”

He said the experience of 2016 will make him better prepared to contend for a goal this time around ...

“It’s not like it’s an advantage or anything, but I feel like I’m more prepared as far as what to expect. Last quad, I made the team and then we traveled to a bunch of training camps. A lot of it was ‘wow, this is a really cool experience.’ You get to meet all these people and just do cool things.

“But when I actually got there, I realized that I just prepared for the wrong things. I identified what I thought it would take to win a medal and ignored some other stuff. This time around I’m a little more mature, I’ve got a pretty good support group. I’ve taken the lessons I learned at Rio and have really applied those for these upcoming Games.”

Unfortunately, he's going to have to wait an extra year for that to happen. In the meantime, he's doing what the rest of us are during these difficult times -- staying at home trying to find ways to stay busy ...

“My wife and I have been going through stuff kind of lazily. Every day we’ll try to go to this corner of the house, then this corner and just kind of go through stuff because it was pretty much go-go-go for the last six months or so with getting ready for the Olympic Trials, training and balancing everything.

“Two weeks ago they said okay, come get your gear, we’re shutting down the OTC until mid-April, so since then we’ve just been kind of doing stuff here. She works in the school district, so she’s not able to work.”