Great Harwood’s Olympic silver medalist Ian Peel has been trying to find the next generation of shooters who can fire GB to a medal in London 2012.

Peel, now 53, won his silver medal in the trap at the Sydney Olympics – one of only three Britons to win an Olympic medal in that event since 1956.

He tried to go one better in Athens in 2004 but finished joint 19th and since then has been working for the Olympic Performance Group hoping to find people to add to that limited medal tally.

He said: "I decided after Athens enough was enough.

"While it wasn’t a disaster finishing 19th, I went there to win, I never go to anything to just take part, and so I just shoot for fun now.

"When I annouced I was retiring from competitive shooting, I was invited to be part of the OPG for shotgun and trap. It’s a voluntary role and lasts for eight years so I finish next year.

"My job is to talk to Olympic hopefuls, keep track of their results at home and overseas and try and help them with their funding.

"I don’t pick the team or have any say over the Olympic venue or do any coaching – although I have been to have a look at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich – but I just offer encouragement and advice and recommend funding.

"Some of the shooters haven’t reached Olympic standard but, as it is a home event, we have the chance of more wildcard places so it’s a case of giving them the best possible backing."

Team GB have around 12 places in the various shooting events next year as they look to emulate Peel’s success.

Peel’s silver Olympic medal – although he did win three gold, two silver and one bronze in the Commonwealth Games – is his major pride although it is currently locked away in his gun cabinet

"I still look back with a lot of pride to Sydney," said Peel, who was 42 at the time and who worked at Blackburn Yarn Dyers then, and still does now.

"I shot 118 out of 125 in the early rounds and then in the final 25, I shot 24.

"Australian Michael Diamond, who was the Olympic champion from four years previous, won by shooting 122 and 25 out of 25 so, unfortunately for me, he was quite a bit ahead of me in the competition.

"I guess the older generation still remember me but the younger ones don’t.

"With the Olympics being in London a little part of me wonders about whether I should have carried on but I would be 54 and that’s too old to compete.

"I had 20 years travelling around the world, shooting and competing and a silver Olympic medal isn’t too bad out of it."

Shooting only really comes to the nation’s attention once every four years at the Olympics.

This is despite British, World Cup and European events going on all year round.

And Peel does regret that it is a struggling sport at the moment.

He said: "We didn’t have any trap representatives at the Beijing Olympics and that was disappointing for me.

"Shooting is a difficult sport – firstly you have to have the talent and then it is a strenuous event, mentally and physically.

"I always compare it to pole vault. It’s easier to run than do pole vault so not many people do that sport and there are easier sports to do than shooting.

"It’s also an expensive sport. A gun is around £3,000 and ammunition is around £200 per 1,000.

"There is also the cost of petrol in travelling to the nearest gun club as well as the price of ammunitition going up with the price of lead and copper.

"The people who take it up are usually upwards of 35 with good jobs and some time on their hands.

"But this isn’t the people we are looking for as, at the Olympics, we probably need people starting out in the 20-35 bracket but these are probably people with rich parents.

"You need to have spare money and there is not a lot of it around nowadays.

"I was lucky as I lived at home until I was 31 and then I got married, which was considered quite late at the time, so I did have some spare cash.

"I also was looked after at work at Blackburn Yarn Dyers as they let me use my holidays to travel.

"I am sure people just thought I kept going off for ‘shooting holidays’ and wasn’t that good at first!

"I also got sponsorship, especially after I had won Commonwealth medals and the Olympic one.

"I also think it was easier to get sponsorship then as the word ‘shooter’ is often associated with bad things nowadays and therefore it’s not that easy to attract sponsors."

Still, despite the struggle withing the sport, there are some names in the frame for medals at next year’s shooting events.

Peel said: "In double trap, I would pick Peter Wilson and Richard Faulds – Richard won gold in Sydney in double trap.

"In trap, my event, it could be between Aaron Heading and Ed Ling.

"Ed won a bronze medal at the World Cup and, if you win medals at the World Cup, then you stand a chance at the Olympics .

"I would expect a 10-20 placing is a good result for Aaron and anything above that is excellent.

"Aaron was a bit young at Beijing and Ed was a bit disillusioned with the sport so that’s why neither of them went there.

"But I hope to be at London supporting them all.

"After eight years working as a volunteer, I would love to be part of the Olympics and it would be great to see one of the GB shooters pick up another medal."

  • Olympic trap: The shooter fires five rounds at 25 single clays from five stands.
  • Double trap: As for Olympic trap but two clays at a time. Three rounds of 50 targets.