World record holder Scott upbeat despite shooting's funding cut

By Richard Anderson, Sportsbeat

BRITISH marksman Steve Scott insists his sights are set solely on Olympic gold at London 2012 after shattering the double trap world record.

EYES ON THE TARGET: Steve Scott added the world bronze to his European title earlier this year and claimed a double trap world record

The 24-year-old, who claimed gold at the 2008 European Championships, hit 195 out of 200 discs to earn his place in the record books.

Scott followed up that milestone by adding the British title and World Championship bronze to his ever improving resume.

And after disappointing in qualifying at the 2008 Beijing Games, Scott is desperate to make amends with the Olympic countdown just ticking past 1000 days.

"Overall things are going really well and my ultimate goal of getting a gold medal at the London 2012 games is on track," said Scott.

"I'm shooting really well the moment and if I keep going the way I am then there is no reason why I can't do really well at 2012.

"Overall I am where I want to be at this stage of my career - I set a new world record of 195 this year which was a great moment for me.

"It's been a really positive year for me and things have gone pretty much to plan but as always there is room for improvement."

Over the years shooting has consistently delivered medals for Great Britain at the Olympics - with Richard Faulds striking double trap gold in Sydney.

But disappointments in Athens and Beijing saw the sport's funding slashed by 75 per-cent earlier this year, meaning several top coaches departed the British team.

But Scott is hopeful his involvement with Visa's Team 2012 programme could bring extra and much-needed funds.

"The only cloud on the horizon is the fact that a lot of our funding has been withdrawn because of cuts so we need to see how we will manage that," added Scott.

"Being a part of Team 2012 will hopefully make more funding available to us which would be a huge boost and one I'll take full advantage of.

"I can't believe that it's only 1,000 days to go until London - it's come around so quickly.

"I went to see the stadium last month and it was incredible to see how far along everything has come in such a short space of time.

"It really brought everything to life for me and made me realise what a huge event the Olympics is going to be and I'm eager to prove myself there."