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Even though he admits it's lonely at times, he says his love for the sport is the thing which keeps him going. The 30 year old's first experience of archery was when he was growing up in Stowmarket.听 A school trip on his fourteenth birthday introduced him to the sport and since then he's never looked back.

In 1994, he made the national junior side for the first time and since 2005 he's been part of the senior international set-up. This means he's part of an elite group of full-time archers and he gets lottery funding.

In 2007, Peart finished third in the UK Masters Championship to consolidate his place as one of the country's most promising shooters. This impressive form has also seen him match the Olympic qualifying record but he says he's under no illusions about the challenge ahead.

Only three men will represent British Archery in China as Team GB looks to build on its impressive display in Athens in 2004 when they brought home two medals.

It means competition for places is gathering pace, but Peart is prepared for the battle ahead: "I've sorted my shooting out, settled my technique down and it's going really well. I'm the one who's got to make it happen."

Peart is still relatively young for an archer and he hopes to still be around for the London Olympics in 2012. With the search for medal hopefuls already underway any success in Beijing could mean a big financial boost for the sport and Michael says it's an exciting place to be: "It would be such an opportunity to win a medal on home soil.

"There's going to be such a buzz around British sport and it would be irresistible not to train for it."

He lives in Kesgrave and can be found most days practising in a field at Trinity Park (formerly known as the Suffolk Showground). Sometimes he's joined by his fellow Team Ipswich archer Nicky Hunt, who's also had a top ten ranking in the UK.

Countdown to China

So only time will tell if Peart can maintain his good form and represent his country at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The one thing for certain is that he's going to give it his best shot.

Nicky and Michael take aim

Having won their place in the GB Team after competing at RAF Cosford, both Peart and Hunt are the European Champs in Vittel, France, 10-18 May 2008.

Vittel will be a hard fought competition with 5 days of shooting and for many countries, other than Great Britain, it's the last chance of selection for the Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, Michael has helped to inspire another local archer, Richard Wilkins, who's also a member of the Team Ipswich elite squad. Richard, has made the switch from international compound archer to recurve archer and he has Olympic aspirations for the London 2012 Olympics. Richard now trains with Michael and draws on his experience because this is a move in classification that Michael made in the past.