Jackson aims high after another solid Olympic performance

 BRITISH biathlete Lee-Steve Jackson is setting his sights high after another solid Olympic appearance and believes a top 15 finish in his third race in Vancouver is not out of the question.

ON A HIGH: Lee-Steve Jackson of Great Britain is thinkly positively after his 56th-place finish at Vancouver 2010 (Getty Images)

The 29-year old, a lance-corporal with the 2nd Battalion, Two Rifles, finished 56th in the 12.5km pursuit, just one place lower than in his Olympic debut in the 10km sprint on Sunday.

Jackson managed two clear shooting rounds out of four, but in the penultimate round, missed three targets, incurring three 150m penalty loops.

Coming home 55th on Sunday saw Jackson equal his best-ever finish at elite level, but with Thursday's 20km pursuit on the horizon, the Brit believes he is capable of much better.

"I skied well today. I was disappointed with my first standing shoot, but I picked it up at the end," said Jackson.

"Shooting zero twice in a race builds your confidence. It leaves me in a good position and with plenty of confidence going into my final race on Thursday.

"I'm in a good position in my head and physically I feel great, so there's a lot to go for on Thursday.  

"Anything in the top 40 would be phenomenal performance for a British skier.

"And if I get a clean shoot a top 15 or top 20 position in the next race could be possible, I'd be over the moon with that. It would be like a medal to me.

"I've enjoyed every race here and I've really enjoyed the experience."

Having set off in 55th place, 3:10 minutes behind the leader, Jackson quickly moved into 51st, hitting all five targets on his first trip to the shooting range.

On the next shooting round, another prone, he missed the first target but then hit the following four and left the range in 55th.

Jackson dropped a place in the first standing shooting round, hitting the first two targets but then missing three in a row.

But he ended on a high note, hitting five from five on the last standing shoot and then completing the last skiing leg to cross the line in 56th in 39 minutes 54.7 seconds - 6:16.3 minutes behind gold medallist Bjorn Ferry from Sweden.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day five from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver