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TOKYO – Recent University of Utah graduate Alexis Lagan said she was fully prepared to begin her Olympic journey in Tokyo this weekend.
She will compete in the 10-meter air pistol event Sunday and officially become an Olympian.
Of all the pictures Alexis Lagan has saved of herself competing, there is one she hasn't been able to take yet. Soon she will.
"I feel really prepared for this Olympics," Lagan said. "I feel like this is my time to shine. I am, I'm really ready."
Lagan began shooting competitively when she attended the University of Utah. However, she attended the U. for its physics program.
"I never thought about going to the Olympics in any discipline, let alone in shooting, and the University of Utah was kind of my gateway to that," she explained.
She joined Utah's marksmanship club only to make new friends since all her other friends from her hometown of Boulder City, Nevada went to BYU.
Lagan planned on going to BYU but changed her mind at the last minute, something her BYU-loving family was heartbroken over.
"My mom is much happier now that I'm Team USA rather than just University of Utah," she said.
She competed in several World Cups and championships around the world and even won a Gold in Mexico at the Championships of the Americas three years ago.
However, she knows the Olympics are different. "My coach used to tell me there's lots of people that are Olympians; there's only a few people that have actually performed their absolute best at the Olympics."
Lagan was disappointed when organizers decided families were not allowed to travel to the Games. "It was something that they were really looking forward to. Something that I was really hoping to have is that family connection," she said.
Performing her best for the Games' two-week stretch was all she trained for and thought about.
That picture in her mind is about to happen.
"I know that there's people thinking of me and I know that my Heavenly Father is watching over me and taking care of me."
Lagan will also compete in the 25-meter pistol competition on Thursday.
When she was 14, she received a letter from the White House for singing the U.S. national anthem at more than 150 events through the years.
It would be pretty cool if she heard the anthem while standing on the podium for gold.
