Michael DIAMOND

Michael Diamond was a six-time Olympian who competed in trap shooting for Australia. The highlight of his career came when he won two gold medals in 1996 and 2000, becoming only the second Olympic shooter to defend that title, after Italian Luciano Giovanetti. He learned to shoot as a boy when his father managed a gun club. Diamond won the 2007 World Championship and was a five-time Commonwealth Games Champion, winning in 1998, 2002 (in both trap and trap pairs), 2006, and 2010. He added three silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, finishing second in trap pairs in 1998, double trap pairs in 2002, and individual trap in 2010.

Diamond was expecting to compete at the 2016 Olympics but in May of that year he was stopped by police on suspicion of drunk driving and was found to have a shotgun and 150 rounds of ammunition in his car. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. This followed reports of a domestic dispute with his brother, who took out an apprehended violence order against him. Because of his offense the Australian Olympic Committee refused to nominate him for the Rio Games. In early 2017 Diamond was found guilty of firearms and drunk-driving offenses. His firearms license was suspended for 10 years and he was given probation instead of jail time.