DAN Repacholi has moved one step closer to a sixth Olympic Games and achieving a rare Australian double.
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The Cessnock shooter now progresses to the next phase of qualification for Paris in 2024, following the latest round of competition in Rio.
Repacholi, who turns 42 next month, remains on top of the country's leaderboard for the men's 10-metre air pistol event.
If ultimately successful it's believed the Hunter MP would become just the second sitting member of parliament in Australia to wear the green and gold uniform at an Olympics, following on from Kookaburras hockey captain Ric Charlesworth at Games in both 1984 and 1988.
Repacholi posted a six-round total of 564 overnight in Brazil, part of the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship, falling short of the eight-shooter decider and ranked 70th.
This took him overall to 2826 points, when combined with recent domestic events, narrowly extending his advantage by one over Bailey Groves (2819) and Matt Sydes (2818).
"After a close competition in Rio with my fellow Australian competitors I am happy to announce that I finished the Australian qualification in first place," Repacholi posted on social media on Sunday morning.
"I now move on to the next phase which will attempting to shoot a good enough score to actually qualify for my sixth Olympic Games."
Repacholi, a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, has previously competed at Olympics in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2021).
He was elected as Hunter MP in May, 2022.
Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
