Will Shaner is shooting for his Olympic dreams

Will Shaner is a student-athlete at the University of Kentucky, in the sport of rifle. Last year he qualified for the Olympics, but then the pandemic happened. He'll be in Tokyo this summer, and he'll be representing us. Shaner is from Colorado Springs, "It's amazing! I'm really excited to represent Colorado Springs. It's definitely a little bit of pressure, because it is Olympic city. It would be nice to bring back a medal for everyone. It's extremely humbling, and just exciting to be from here, and being able to go," says Shaner. Shaner was twelve when he found out rifle is an Olympic sport. He's had the goal to compete on the world stage for a while. That goal is now a reality, "It doesn't really hit you until a couple of weeks later, I think. You qualify, then they tell you you're in, and you're just like: oh cool, alright, I'm set. As it gets closer, you're like: oh this is actually like what I've been trying to for for a while. It took a while to set in, but it was a really exciting moment for me," says Shaner. It's nothing new to him. He's a junior Olympic champion, but still, he admits he's a little nervous, "If I wasn't nervous, then I think there would be something wrong with me. But this is what I trained for. This is what I've always wanted. So I'm just kind of falling back on everything I've done. I'm nervous, but I'm still excited. I don't have any doubt in my mind that it's going to go well," says Shaner.