Shooter Ed in Olympics no-go

9:55am Friday 27th June 2008

NYNEHEAD clay shooter Ed Ling has missed out on the chance to represent Great Britain in the Beijing Olympics - despite leading the current national rankings in his favoured event.

Ed, who took part in the Athens Games in 2004, has run into trouble with the sport's governing body, British Shooting.

They insisted he signed a contract and train virtually full-time with a coach in Italy, allowing him to take part in the qualifying competitions.

But Ed turned down the offer because he was reluctant to leave Heywood Farm, where he is trained by his father Steve, as he feels it will affect his form.

Ed, 25, has been a top shooter since his early teens, representing Great Britain at the age of 14 and winning various championships.

He said: "I would like to see it goes back to a fair selection process where performance decides who goes into the team. We'll have to see what happens.

"Obviously it would be my dream to win a gold medal in my home country in 2012." Ed's stepmother Carole Phillips said: "British Shooting are trying to make out Ed is not committed, but he is 100 per cent committed.

"He has got where he has doing it his way and his attitude is if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

John Leighton-Dyson, British Shooting's performance director, said: "The World Class programme in all the major Olympic sports is not aself-service menu - you cannot duck in and out and take what you want."

Editor's Choice