Dual Olympic gold medallist Michael Diamond (NSW) has come within a whisker of sealing a quota place for Australia for the 2012 London Olympic Games overnight.

Diamond, competing in the ISSF World Cup in the Chilean city of Concepcion, made the six person-final and forced his way into a four way shoot off for second place after finishing on an overall score of 143 targets from a possible 150.

With two quota places being awarded at the event, Turkish shooter Oguzhan Tuzun took the first one by claiming the title on a score of 145, leaving Diamond and the three other shooters fighting it out for the last quota place.

In the shoot-off however, Diamond missed his second target and finished in fifth place and will now turn his attention to the next World Cup in Sydney.

Two more quota places for the men’s trap, as well as the other 14 Olympic events, will be awarded in Sydney as over 700 of the world’s best shooters converge on Australia for the event (23 March – 1 April).

Diamond will look to use the range that he won his second Olympic gold medal on as an advantage, while fellow Australian top ten athlete, Adam Vella (VIC), will also fancy his chances. Vella finished 15th in Chile on a score of 119, only missing the final by two targets.

Australian Shooting Inc