SHARP shooter Ian Peel could have Great Britain's first medal by the end of the weekend.

Peel, from Great Harwood, will take part in the Olympic Trap, with the preliminary rounds starting at 10pm on Friday night and the final starting 3.30am on Saturday morning.

"Practice has been going reasonably well," said Peel from the Olympic village. " I arrived in Brisbane on the sixth and trained down there and then came to the village on the ninth.

"Out of 50 targets, I've been hitting 46's and 47's out here but it's all about the day. I'll know how I'm really doing when the competition starts tomorrow."

In the preliminary rounds at Settle Park, Ian reckons he's got to shoot about 120 of the 125 targets.

These are 4oz clay pigeons which come out of a trap 16 metres away at angles of up to 70 degrees.

He'll shoot 75 on the Saturday and then another 50 on the Sunday and then the top six from these will shoot it out for the medals.

"I think if I get around 120 I should reach the final six although it obviously does depend how everyone else does."

And it's also dependent on the conditions which, after training at Hull, are just that little bit hotter!

"It's really strange weather at the moment. It's about one degree in the morning and night but when the sun comes down, when I'll be competing, it's red hot. I'll need my factor 30 and a sunhat!" said the 42-year-old.

"It's boiling at the moment but the forecast is that it could be in the low 20's and a little overcast over the weekend which will be better for me."

And Ian is prepared for a new experience -- a crowd of more than 3,000 watching his every move.

"It's really strange," said Ian. "I've never seen a stand like the one they've built at any shooting range before. It's outstanding."

And with Ian's main rival being the Australian Michael Diamond, he's got the home crowd cheering him on.

"I think it can be an advantage and a disadvantage," said Ian. "They will be cheering him on but they also make him a bit more nervous. With 3,000 there it may put added pressure on.

"I am feeling a bit anxious at the moment but there's also a lot of anticipation. There are around ten to 15 of us who could win it, depending how we perform on the day. It could go any way."

Ian took his mind off shooting by taking part in today's Olympic ceremony, marching around the stadium with the Great Britain team in front of more than 100,000 crowd.

"If you come to the Olympics, you have got to take part in the opening ceremony even though I've spent about six hours on my feet.

"The atmosphere and the buzz is fantastic but now it's down to the real action and hopefully I can produce the form tomorrow and Sunday and return with gold."