A WEST Devon woman last weekend smashed a 16- year-old sporting record and now has her sights firmly set on the bull's eye — the 2012 London Olympics. Georgina 'Gorgs' Geikie, a former student at Okehampton College who lives near to South Zeal, proved to be the star of the 2008 British Open Air Pistol Championships held in Surrey on Saturday, by storming to victory in the senior women's championship and setting a new British record in the process. Gorgs, 23, has focussed solely on shooting for the past four years after previously competing in pentathlon events and the Pony Club tetrathlon. She secured a bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia while at university and without as much focussed training as she is doing now. After graduating from university in Cardiff with a degree in product design, Gorgs has decided to put her career on hold to pursue her 'life's ambition' — the gold medal at the London Olympics. She said: ' The 2012 Olympics are my life time ambition, my dream. It's the pinnacle of sporting achievement and to represent my country in the Olympics on home soil — it gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. 'If I am the best in the country, I will be there. At the moment I'm confident but anything can happen and I'm not counting my chickens but you've got to be in it to win it and I'm aiming for the gold medal.' Open air pistol sees competitors take 40 shots in one hour and 15 minutes at a precision target. The top eight go through to a 'ten shot' final where they all shoot at the same time. At the women's championships last Saturday, Gorgs had a qualification score of 386, only one point under the previous record. She then scored a series of 10s and 9s to complete the ten-shot final with 99.6 and an overall score of 485.6, a new British record. This was 1.2 points higher than the former record of 484.4, set in 1992. Gorgs has to spend 4 to 5 hours a day training. This involves the 'gun-in-hand' side, as well as a large amount of physical and mental training. She said that it was vital to have high levels of physical fitness to help the body cope in high stress situations and also to keep her heart rate low, which is extremely important when keeping a steady hand for shooting. Mental techniques such as focused relaxation and visualisations are also used for the same reason. Because pursuing her dream requires a huge amount of dedicated training, it means putting her career on hold. She said: 'It's an opportunity I don't want to let slip but it is difficult to work and train at the same time. 'I really feel like I can fulfil my ambition but I need some help along the way and any form of sponsorship would be greatly received. 'I need help to support this way of life, this training regime.' She will soon be heading to Zurich, Switzerland for further training and to compete in the European Championships, where she will be the only representative for the British senior team. She is still young to be shooting in the senior competition and is looking forward to competing in Europe, as it is the first time she has been a strong contender in a senior competition. Gorgs has a love and passion for all sport. She ran the London marathon in under four hours after only two weeks training and was involved in a huge number of sporting activities while she was at Okehampton College. She said: 'I just love sport. I love the social side of it and meeting loads of different people but at the end of the day it's about having fun.' Gorgs would like to express special thanks to Bernard and Yvonne Rendle and Arthur Harvey, who lets her use his shooting range, for all their help, encourage and support. Anyone who is interested in sponsoring Georgina Geikie and helping her move one step closer to Olympic gold can contact her on 01647 231433.