LONDON 2012: Faulds and Wilson head ten-strong British Olympic shooting team

Posted: Monday 28th May 2012 | 14:50

WORLD number one Peter Wilson and five-time Olympian Richard Faulds will lead a ten-strong British shooting team at the London 2012 Olympics.

EXPERIENCE: Richard Faulds, an Olympic champion in 2000, has been named for his fifth consecutive British Olympic team (Getty Images)

Faulds, who won double trap gold in Sydney 12 years ago, has won four world titles in a career spanning two decades while Wilson, who competes in the same event, won the European and World Cup titles in 2011 and set a world record earlier this year in Arizona.

Former European and double Commonwealth champion Elena Allen will contest the Olympic skeet class while Jonathan Hammond, who also won two golds in Delhi, will compete in the prone rifle.

Jennifer McIntosh, 20, and James Huckle, 21, are two of the youngest members of the squad and will be on the range in the air rifle and three position rifle respectively.

Richard Bickell and Rory Warlow both compete in the Olympic skeet while Georgina Geikie and Ed Ling complete the squad in the 25m pistol and Olympic trap.

“Competing in London won't differ much from previous Olympic Games, and we’ll all have to cope with the usual difficulties which come with competitive sport," said Faulds.

"The home crowd will be a huge advantage to all of us, and having the support of family and friends is very important to me.

“I'm very excited about competing in London, and I still remember exactly where I was when I heard that London was to be the host city. I remember thinking ‘maybe I won't retire just yet!'"

Shooting selections take Great Britain's Olympic team, expected to finally number 550, to 117 strong and hopes are high they can medal in a sport which - until the last two Games - has traditionally seen British athletes regularly climb the podium.

And such confidence is in marked contrast to three years ago when British Shooting saw their funding cut by a massive 70 percent after failing to deliver projected results in Beijing.

"I think the team is really well balanced and I’m excited by the talent and potential we have," said Team GB shooting team leader Phil Scanlan.

"In the double trap event we have the current world record holder, as well as a former Olympic gold medallist, so things are looking really promising and we're in a great position at the moment."