The Bookaar athlete, who will compete for Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, is balancing farm duties with her regular job at Colac's Bluewater Leisure Centre.

There's a bit of trap shooting in the mix too.

"I guess times are pretty unusual at the moment (with COVID-19)," Smith told The Standard.

"Earlier this year I was training four or five times a week down in Melbourne and my preparation was strong. When the virus hit things kind of came to a standstill everywhere.

"I've had a bit more time on my hands. I'm still training two to three times a week but Mum and Dad have been dealing with calving this week so I've been helping them out.

"I've also been back at work. I had five weeks off as the pool closed due to the restrictions.

"It was good to have a bit of time off. We're just living in the unknown a bit at the moment. I've been getting back into fitness and training again recently."

Smith said domestic competitions were unlikely to begin until October but she planned to spend time at a Melbourne range honing her shooting craft in the meantime.

She revealed a return to work was welcomed for structure and felt her shooting form was in good stead with practice at her parents' farm.

She said her Olympic status - announced in April - was yet to sink in.

"Some of my high performance managers have definitely told us this isn't what a normal Olympics would feel like," Smith said.

"People say 'well done on making the Olympics' and you say 'thank you' but it's still 12 months or so away and it hasn't really sunk in yet.

"I think once we get back to the range and do a bit of training it will really hit. I don't really feel any different at the moment - I'm still just Penny Smith from Bookaar."

The games - originally scheduled start July 24 of this year - were moved to 2021 due to COVID-19 fears.

Smith said the extra time to prepare was a positive.

"The more time you have to train you grow as a person and athlete," she said.

"It's given me some more time to refine my skills. Now the team has been set in stone, it gives you more time to work on what you need to work on and your weaknesses.

"There's also more time to reach out to our high performance managers and support staff to tap into their knowledge which is beneficial." For now, it's just good to be home.

"It's nice to go to work and come home and ride the horses and do things I haven't been able to do a lot of," Smith said.

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