It was an 18th birthday to remember for Jens Olsrud Oestli when he cruised to victory in the men’s 50m rifle prone final at the Junior World Shooting Championships in Lima, Peru.
But it was just the bookend in a fantastic junior career so far for the Norwegian, who already has two world titles, two 50m rifle 3 positions world medals and mixed team silver to his name.
“I was maybe a bit afraid beforehand, but on that day, I felt good,” said Oestli, who managed the pressure well to successfully defend his world title.
“I had a feeling that it was going to be good, if I just did the work.
“My prone had been very good in the 3P event, so I was very confident going into it.
“Of course, I remember the goals from last year, but I tried to turn it into something positive for me and say that this was a new competition for me.
“During the 60 shots, I knew that my results were in reach to the podium.
“So, in the last 10 shots, I was so focused on just having very good execution of my shots, because there was a lot of wind that day, so I was making some mistakes during it.
“But in the last 10, I was so focused on just shooting when it's a 100% perfect wind picture.”
Speaking to the teenager, you understand the maturity that lies on the shoulders of an athlete who has yet to step onto the senior circuit – someone who is gracious in victory and defeat.
A costly error on the single standing shots in the 50m rifle 3 positions final meant he had to settle for bronze, unable to upgrade his silver from the year before. Despite this, there was an air of optimism from him.
“Going into the final, I think everyone there was a bit nervous and me myself I was a bit insecure,” said Oestli.
“I had worked a lot on my mental preparation for the competition, so I knew my technique was good enough.
“It was just like trusting that and to just have focus on the process.
“The final was one of my best finals.
“The last shot was just a little mishap.
“It felt like a good shot going into it, but then my triggering was a bit off and the shot just went.
“But I feel in that final, the standing part is of course the most hardest one.
“I was fighting myself, I felt like the whole final, but also enjoyed it as well.
“I am very satisfied with that performance.
“It’s hard to just forget a shot like that, but it’s just about focusing on the positives of that final.”
Being a junior star bodes well for his future. He is both graced and cursed to have quality senior teammates including world champion Jon-Hermann Hegg, meaning he has yet to have the opportunity on the senior circuit. Despite this, being around his older compatriots has been a great part of the learning curve.
“We are with the seniors a lot, so I am used to shooting against them and compare myself to them and their scores,” said Oestli.
“I only have to focus on my work and myself and that is how the scores would be reflected in focusing forward to be good enough to be selected for a senior event.”
He considers the older team members as friends and mentors, working particularly closely with Jenny Stene, a European Games champion and world medallist.
“Every person on the senior team I feel like it's really easy to talk with them, to learn from and to get their experiences close to us.
“I think that's helped me a lot and that's a really good thing we do here.”
It is clearly a recipe for success too. Norway claimed four gold medals and 10 medals in total at the Junior World Championships this year, with individual titles also going to Synnoeve Berg and Caroline Finnestad Lund.
Oestli expects to make his ISSF World Cup debut in 2025 and expects the upcoming 12 months to be one of great change in his sporting career and his personal life. He is graduating from high school in June and must focus on his studies as well as his shooting.
It means he cannot commit the same load of training as those no longer in education and has instead worked with his coach to get the best out of him, with limited time.
“We are planning on making the training plan for the future right now,” said Oestli.
“The training me and my coach have set up for is to get the maximum out of every session because I don't have the time to train more than I've been doing.
“In the national team I don't have the time to be training seven days a week, but I'm really focused now on every training I have and be curious and interested in every session.”
Part of these quality sessions has included simulated finals effectively, clearly contributing to his success so far at junior level. While education may be his short-term focus, there are no immediate plans to enrol in a university course – instead he sees his graduation from school the perfect time to be released into the sporting world with little else in the way of distractions.
One of those targets for the year again will include more success at the Junior World Championships, hoping to become one of the age group greats by adding to his five medals so far over three years.
Even without a senior appearance to his name, the Norwegian is mature beyond his years and although hungry to improve, is not fazed by those around him.
“I’m just focusing on specific things to improve and to invest in myself in the sport,” said Oestli, signing off.
“And focus on my things that I have to work with.
“You can't do anything with what others are shooting.
“So it's just to improving yourself and getting into the mindset of how to do that.”