Nowadays it is used to define sport’s upper crust, which is currently pushing the human body’s limits in Tokyo — and for two Mooroopna denizens, their son is one of them.
Daniel Repacholi, Colin and Geraldine Repacholi’s only child, is competing in the individual and mixed 10m air pistol events on the biggest stage there is.
It’s his fifth Olympics — and he sure fits the billing of the antecedent definition.
Standing at 6’8” (203cm), Repacholi is a colossus.
Add in the fact he is a bone fide crack shot and it makes him a competitor most would fear.
However, that still doesn’t ease the nerves of his mum and dad when he steps up to the mark to take that first shot.
“(Watching Daniel), it’s very nerve-racking,” Geraldine said.
“Everyone thinks (shooting) is like watching paint dry, but if you’ve got someone there and know what they’re doing, it’s very interesting and exciting.”
With no spectators permitted at this year's Games, the aura certainly differs from years past.
But not being able to watch their son in the flesh — that’s normal for Colin and Geraldine.
One of the few occasions they were able to stand by Daniel was at the Gold Coast-hosted Commonwealth Games in 2018, and afterward, he made it clear any outside distraction wouldn’t be getting in the way of his climb to the top.
“We were there at the Commonwealth Games and in the moment it was just amazing,” Geraldine said.
“But you can’t get that when you’re sitting in your lounge room.
“We were never going to be invited to Tokyo anyway — after the Commonwealth Games Daniel said, ‘nah, none of you are coming'.”
His father alluded to why.
“I think he’s got enough to worry about, focusing on shooting and having to worry about what mum and dad and the family are doing,” Colin said.
“If you cut that out, you’ve only got one thing to concentrate on, and that’s shooting.”
So, with a pistol in his hand and fancy socks on his feet — ones Repacholi’s own children pick out for him to wear during the event — the man mountain is shooting for glory on the leading international sporting dais.
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And thousands of kilometres away in Mooroopna, his parents are glued to the telly, with lips pursed in the shape of three words.
“Come on Daniel.”
● Repacholi finished 30th in the men's 10m air pistol event on Saturday, but has another chance for glory in the mixed ranks on Tuesday.
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