Gianluca Chetcuti - Malta’s Rising Star in Olympic Trap Shooting
We sat down with Gianluca Chetcuti to learn about his journey from a teenager training in double trap shooting to becoming one of Malta’s premier shooters. With multiple national titles and international appearances, including the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), Gianluca has established himself as a formidable competitor on the international stage. His dedication and skill have earned him a spot representing Malta at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Trap shooting is a precision sport where athletes use shotguns to break clay targets launched at high speeds and varying angles from a single "trap" house. It demands sharp reflexes, keen eyesight, and a lot of concentration. The discipline is not only a test of physical skill but also mental fortitude, as shooters must maintain composure under pressure to achieve consistent performance.
Gianluca, you began your shooting career in 2012 and have since become a two-time GSSE gold medallist and Malta’s first confirmed athlete for the Paris 2024 Olympics. How has your journey evolved over the years?
Yes, already 13 years have passed to the day I first tried out this sport, I was just 14 years at the time and had never held a shotgun in my hands, I was a complete amateur and neither my parents nor myself didn’t quite know what I was putting myself into. The journey has evolved with so many twists and turns that it has completely changed my life, influenced decisions and caused irreversible personal growth.
There are instances in life that mark you forever.
“The first shot I took at a clay target, I knew that this sport, this activity was for me, and I didn’t mean it just to keep this as a hobby but make shooting more permanent to my life. I’m not going to lie and tell you that I was a prodigy or had hidden talent.”
I was amateurish at best in my initial years and was up against athletes who were born into this sport or had a long family lineage of being passed on from father to son. But I wanted to improve and win so bad, so bad that it probably caused me more damage on my performance looking back, but I was willing to get there. A few months into the practicing, I saw shooting being displayed at the 2012 London Olympics and I knew, I knew that one day I would be just like those athletes at the Olympics and 12 years later, in July 2024, I was right there at Chateauroux Shooting Range in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Sure, I was no longer shooting the same discipline of clay pigeon shooting I had started in my younger years and where I won my 2 GSSE Gold Medals, but those were just stepping stones to getting to the Olympics.
Competing in the Olympics is a significant milestone. What lessons did you take away from your experience in Paris?
It may sound like a cliche’ but ask any athlete (excluding some major teamsports like football) and they all say the same thing.
“The Olympics is the most significant and important milestone that any athlete can ever reach. It was always a dream, always a goal.”
Never quite sure when it would come, never quite sure if the opportunity would come again. It would be hard to narrow down the Olympic experience in just a few words but the answer which comes to mind just now would be; heavy. In our sport, the level is very high and the same shooters I competed against at the Olympics, are the same shooters I compete at in other international events, so I wouldn’t say I was not prepared technically. However, I underestimated the weight of the games and the national pride. Granted, most of the pressure was self-imposed but I felt the responsibility to bring Malta a decent result and perhaps our first medal. However, I didn’t. And I didn’t perform at my highest. I didn’t even need to shoot my personal best to get into the final. And because of this heavy experience, this heavy shame I felt for a few weeks after, it caused me to re-evaluate and reconstruct myself. Had I won a medal, I sure would have been elated and made my country and family so proud, but I would have probably missed out on the greatest learning experience I could have had. These are just some of the major lessons I learnt.
Simplify life, simplify the process. Your body and mind know what needs to be done and so don’t intervene in the process.
Mindset – I would describe myself to be polite and timid, on and off the court. The Olympics thought me that being polite and timid won’t get you any extra points when it’s down to the wire. I am not talking about being rude, gamesmanship or any form of poor integrity – but you need to be selfish and fight for your rights and make sure you put yourself at the best possible position you can for yourself if you want to succeed.
It’s not necessarily the best who win, but those who adapt the quickest and doubt the least.
With the GSSE approaching, how are you tailoring your training to defend your title in Andorra?
The titles I won in 2017 & 2019 were for Double Trap, which sadly is no longer available as a shooting discipline. This will be my third edition of the GSSE games, and I will be participating in Trap. I am not approaching these games a title defender but as a new challenger so to say. I have a great technical and fitness coach who are always keeping me in check. I have just returned from an international training camp and also an international competition where I performed modestly and which acted as trials to see where I measure up prior to the GSSE. As for training, The week prior to leaving for Andorra will be an intense training camp where we address any shortcomings and also simulate the games themselves by having competition simulation rounds. Physically, I am maintaining a regime of good health and the Maltese Olympic Committe also conduct their own measures and tests.
Having previously secured gold in the double trap event, what are your expectations and goals for this year’s competition?
The GSSE games are a very important game to the nation and so warrant the respect it deserves from us athletes to give it all that we’ve got. My goal is to do what I typically do best and that is to hit the greatest number of targets that I can. Saying I have no expectations would be a lie, but I am coming in to challenge the event as a fresh opponent and not as somebody who has something to lose.
Can you walk us through your typical training day? How do you balance physical conditioning with mental preparation?
Truth be told, my training days are not as consistent as one would think as I am not a professional athlete in the way that it is my employment. I am a mechanical engineer by profession and so my training regime, although flexible around my work – is not as consistent as I can make it to be. I can be found at the range on most days, unless I am recovering after an international event or competition. Training days means showing up at the range, changing into my attire and warming up by doing various stretching exercises. We register at the range reception, get the gun assembled and prepare to walk out on the range. Then the shooting training begins, and that could be anything from just general shooting, to training to hit the same target 3,5,7... times in a row, to specific target training, such as training only left targets of various speeds and topologies, or competition simulation – with buzzers in the case you miss a target, automatic scoreboard and having to stick to a time limit of 12s from one shot to another.
Shooting is a very individual sport and in contrary to other sports, genetics don’t play a significant factor in performance. Each athlete sees what works best for him or her but once you look at the top shooters, you start drawing common factors between them. I believe that for myself to be the best shooter I can be, I need to be in the best physical shape I could be. This doesn’t mean I’m at the gym every day, a bulk body and high muscle mass is not the ideal physique – It’s heavy, requires high and precise food intake and adequate amounts of rest. I happen to train to keep myself lean and flexible. We target specific muscle groups to help with co-ordination, balance and core strength. Our competitions last for many hours, with long periods of time left waiting between each shooting round and the next. It’s all about recovering rest and maintaining high levels of hydration and energy.
Trap shooting requires immense focus and precision. What techniques do you employ to maintain consistency under pressure?
I would say routine, breathing and process. I used to think I was not a person of routine, but my entire shooting process is based on a routine, executed consistently. The routine is personal but it involves a precise number of steps and nuances that to me and my coaches are integral but might be irrelevant to bystanders and spectators. I have found that breathing helps me a lot to keep me in the zone that is which helps stay in the present. We have all heard that having a vivid imagination is so helpful for our lives and creativity...but in sports, it’s best you keep that imagination closed with a lid whilst actually competing. I don’t want to indulge in any unnecessary thoughts that can distract me from the process. The process...that is what I have trained hard for years, the process of mounting the gun to the shoulder, the resting of the eyes at the right point, the deep focus on the point where you see the target, the calling for the target, the registering of the target – it’s direction, its speed, the gradual movement to it and the moment when you pounce on it and pull the trigger – to a hopeful colourful explosion of clay dust as you smash it.
Your coaches have instrumental in your development. How has their mentorship influenced your career?
I have had the great pleasure to train under many great coaches, local and foreign. I am who I am today and my shooting technique is what it is today because I am the sum of all these coaches and have adopted nuances, ideas, techniques, beliefs from all the coaches and people I have asked advice from. I took what I could from each and every one, kept the points which worked for me and built up my own idea and construction of what is shooting.
As a prominent figure in Maltese shooting sports, how do you see your role in inspiring the next generation of athletes?
That brings a smile to my face. I was an outlier to the sport from the start. I had no family relations to this sport, wouldn’t even consider my family to be into sports at the time. I was inspired by William Chetcuti, a great Maltese shooter (we share a surname but no direct relation) after I got into the sport and he was and remains to be one of my inspirations. Although I feel I have much more to give, I hope that my story has shown that with hard work, determination, being open to whatever may come and some luck, you really can get where you want to. Who would have thought that a 14 year old teen who had never held a sporting shotgun in his life would make the Olympic games 13 years later? I hope the next generation of athletes can see that it’s possible. I’ve endured countless difficulties and failures, many more than wins. I’ve had to juggle education and sports, now a career and sports and yet even though it’s challenging, cumbersome and at times confusing, it’s rewarding.
Outside of shooting, you have a background in mechanical engineering and a passion for DIY projects and cars. How do these interests complement your sporting career?
I love tinkering. I absolutely do. I always did and probably always will. Even though it has no direct relation to my sporting career, the ability to indulge in thinking about solving a mechanical or electrical problem on my own helps to ease the noise, the tension and weight I feel on my shoulders after lots of shooting.
How do you unwind and maintain a work-life balance amidst the demands of competitive sports?
The first thing which springs to mind would be how fortunate I am to have the support system around me. My family, my fiancée’s family and employer all understand how difficult and time consuming it is to maintain this balance. They all give me the space and time I require to maintain this balance. Of course, compromises are necessary and although I hold up my fair share of the bargain, rarely is it easy and I often feel stretched to upkeep the dedication to all the parties involved. Of course, nothing in life comes easy but I look forward to the day Maltese athletes can turn professional and have their sport be their career. It would help me and other thriving Maltese athletes considerably.
What are your aspirations beyond the GSSE? Are there specific competitions or milestones you're aiming for in the near future?
Yes, GSSE is just one of the important events. I have my eyes set on the European Championships this year, which will be held at the same shooting ranges where the Olympic Games were held just last year, where I shot. I want to go again to redeem myself and bring home a better result. Of course, LA28 is coming up in 3 years, the next Olympic Games. I will work to qualify for those games again and get the result I know I can.
What message would you like to share with young athletes who look up to you and aspire to represent Malta on international stages?
If you’re looking up, chances are because you see a part of yourself within me, just as I saw a part of myself within others. Don’t throw this aspiration away. Why not take the chance and go for this path? You won’t know where you might end up. I am whom I am today because of sports, because of the path I’ve chosen, the risks I’ve taken, the failures I have gone through. I wouldn’t say that my upbringing and education less impact on my development than sports, but training a passion, a sport with serious dedication really exposes you to the world and makes you grow. So please take the chance and see where it will take you and I promise you that if you take it seriously, you won’t believe where it can take you.
Follow Gianluca’s Journey on Instagram @Gianluca_Chetcuti
