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Couple give Olympics their best shot
Barry Kennedy
04Aug08
Shooters Daniel Repacholi and Sue McCready will shoot for Australia this weekend. Picture: KYLIE ELSE
ARMED with love and guns, newlywed shooters Daniel Repacholi and Sue McCready are aiming for gold at the Beijing Olympics.
But it will be separate beds for the Romsey couple and no opening ceremony spectacular.
Repacholi's 10m air pistol and 50m pistol and McCready's 10m air rifle and 50m (three positions) rifle events begin on the first two days of the games.
- Coverage on Melbourne's Olympians, links to results and other info here
Repacholi, 26, said there was no glamour in shooting despite this being his second Olympics and his wife's third.
His bar at the New Gisborne Whistle Stop Tavern will barely be dry and his wife hung up the headphones at a city call centre just three days before boarding for Beijing, he said.
"Being an Olympic year it has probably cost us $50,000 in training, ammunition, travel and lost income," he said.
"We are competing in the first few days, so winning a gold medal is definitely more important than marching."
Repacholi and McCready, 27, have trained almost every day this year while juggling work.
They fire at least 120 bullets a session and spend long hours practising holding their guns steady at firing ranges and at home. Their romance is not unique in the sport but other couples haven't been so lucky, with two couples separated during selection for this year's games.
"A lot of people seem to find their loved ones in the sport," McCready said. "I think it's just seeing the same faces at competitions and just having this passion in common."
It may be their last shared Olympic experience, with both keen for a break after Beijing.
"We'd like to have a family and I now have dedicated 12 or 13 years pretty seriously to the sport," she said.
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