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Dad, son take aim against best to win world championship title

IN an extremely rare father and son achievement, Picnic Point’s Jim Bailey and son Mitchell have been named world champions after competing in the World Long Range Rifle Championships in South Africa.

Jim won the Veterans World Championship as well as Top World Team Coach and Mitchell won the Under 25 World Championship.
Mitch also made the Open World Championship final and came fifth.
A Silver Commonwealth Games medalist from the 2018 Gold Coast Games, Jim, 62, also made the Open World Championship final and came 12th.
Travelling to South Africa as part of the 2024 Australian Target Rifle Team, the outstanding marksmen are passionate about their sport which they practise on Saturdays at the Anzac Rifle Range in Malabar and say it must be in the blood, with Jim learning at a young age from his father who was also fierce competitor.
He said the world championships were generally held every four years but it had been five years since the last one in New Zealand due to the pandemic.
“It was great to get the wins and to know you’re up there with the best in the world,” he said.
“It’s just a sport like any other, the more you practise, the better you become.
“It’s also fantastic in that you can keep going with this sport, right up into your 70s and 80s.
“I certainly encourage others to give it a go.”
Having taken their rifles all over the world to compete, including United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, the USA and more, next up for the Baileys will be the State Titles in Townsville later this year.