The National Championships played out exactly how Bundaberg marksman Brett Foster had imagined.

The Isis Small Bore Rifle and Pistol Club member walked to the podium to receive his gold medal after blasting away his competition with a near-flawless performance at the Geelong competition.

It was a scene Foster had “seen” many times before. As well as daily strength and cardiovascular training and twice-weekly target practice, Foster maintained a strict mental regiment of meditation and visualisation. “I'd thought about it so many times that when it actually happened for real I felt a bit strange,” he said.

Each morning and evening Foster would sit down in a quiet corner of his home and imagine his winning performance at the championships.

The visualisation began with him cocking his pistol, continued through to the process of firing and finished with him stepping up to the podium to claim his trophy.

It proved to be a valuable exercise for Foster who shot an enviable score of 1918 out of a possible 1920 to emerge at the top of the heap of 70 of Australia's best pistol shooters.

Foster first took aim at the National Championships in 2000 and has now brought a 10-year challenge to a close.

“I can't really describe the feeling when I was walking up to receive my trophies. There's been a lot of hard work over the years, so it's good to finally clinch it.”

He now has his sights set on a victory in the World Championships which will be held in 2012.

“The Worlds are the next level and if I keep working hard and doing things right I think I'll be in with a shot,” he said.

The National Championships win has assured Foster a place in the Australian team to compete in the American Action Pistol Bianchi Cup in May next year.