Sporting shiny medals and kitted out in their Australian athlete uniforms, two of our champion Commonwealth Games shooters had their success celebrated at Parliament House in June. A bi-partisan set of supportive politicians, known as the Parliamentary Friends of Shooting group, hosted Laetisha Scanlan and Daniel Repacholi, with around 30 guests seizing the opportunity to see their gold medals up close.

Sports Minister and co-chair of the group, Senator Bridget McKenzie, praised the achievements of the athletes for their shooting prowess, with both shooters acknowledging Minister McKenzie for her public support and positive promotion of sports shooting. The Shadow Sports Minister, Senator Don Farrell, congratulated the shooters and spoke fondly about his visit to a shooting range.

In exciting news for our sport, Daniel announced he had reconsidered his retirement plans that he announced following his gold medal performance in the 50m Pistol event, confirming he has set his sharp eyes on the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Laetisha, who won gold in a nail-biting women’s Trap final, made an impassioned plea for the movers and shakers in the room to help reinstate the shooting events in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which have so far been left out of the program.