Australian triathlete Aaron Royle has booked a spot in his first Olympics thanks to a sixth-place finish at a test event in Rio de Janeiro.
The Newcastle-born, Wollongong-based young gun produced a controlled performance under pressure to place in the top 10 on Sunday, meaning he will return to the same course next year to chase an Olympic medal.
"To be honest it hasn't sunk in yet," Royle said.
"It's a really tough bike course, but the group we had worked really well together and kept it smooth which made it a lot easier.
"The heat made a difference as well."
Royale secured a spot in the lead group during the opening swim leg and maintained his forward position as fellow Australians Ryan Fisher, Ryan Bailie and dual Olympian Courtney Atkinson chased from the second group.
The 25-year-old then played it safe on the run leg despite Spain's Javier Gomez Noya and Frenchman Vincent Luis opening up a gap to finish first and second, while South Africa's Richard Murray came in third.
"That run I was battling but needed to be conservative and aim for the top 10," Royle said.
"On a day like today you could blow real bad and I just had to run smart.
"It wasn't the quickest run, but I did what I needed to do."
Bailie, Fisher and Atkinson finished in 14th, 21st and 42nd places respectively, while Tasmanian Jacob Birtwhistle was forced to withdraw due to cramping.
Australia's women were unsuccessful in their qualification bid in a similarly mixed bag of results, with Gillian Backhouse securing the best finish with 13th.
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