Geikie puts gun law problems behind her

By Ryan Bangs, Sportsbeat

FOR the first time in 12 years Gorgs Geikie has been allowed to shoot in the UK - and she insists it couldn't be better timed with London 2012 just two years away.

UPBEAT: British shooter Gorgs Geikie is heading to the Commonwealth Games in confident mood, after returning to the UK to train 

British laws forced the 25-year-old to eat, sleep and breathe shooting abroad, with the 1997 Firearms Act banning the use of .22 calibre handguns in the UK.

To make matters worse for Geikie, her discipline is not recognised in Britain and therefore she receives no financial support and must fund her every move herself.

However, in a radical move, Great Britain's team have been given limited access to shoot at ranges in Bisley and Bedford this year.

And Geikie, who had a disappointing time at the recent World Championships in Munich, admitted the decision could prove vital with October's Commonwealth Games next on the road to the London 2012 Olympics. 

"With 2012 coming up, a small group of us on the British team have been able to get access to our guns, but we are still very restricted," said Geikie, who won bronze in the 10m air pistol at the 2006 Commonwealths in Melbourne.

"We can only shoot them in Bisley and Bedford and, apart from that, you can't shoot a live shot at all and the security at those ranges is very heavy.

"But the facilities are good - perhaps not as good as they could be - but this is the first six months in 12 years that we have been able to bring guns back to the country.

"You've got to start somewhere and having access to the guns again can only benefit us in the run-up to 2012, especially with the Commonwealths coming up.

"Having the freedom to hold on to them every day, not necessarily shooting them, but we now have the ability to train with them, which we call dry firing - we squeeze the trigger but no shot is fired."

Geikie made the trip from her Okehampton home to London last month for a behind the scenes tour of the Olympic Park, coinciding with the two years to go to 2012 anniversary.

And Geikie is adamant her London 2012 dream is firmly on track.

"I visited the park for the first time on the day it was officially two years to go until 2012. It was a bit of a mammoth journey but it was worth it," she said.

"And I feel like I am where I need to be. I have my training planned out leading all the way up to the Games, so I am definitely on the right track to get to London.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I do think about going and winning a medal. You've got to aim for the top - there is no point in aiming for second."