An upbeat Michael Peart insists his motivation remains as strong as ever, despite his Olympic dream all but ending yesterday.

The Deben Archers coach, from Ipswich, will be first reserve for Great Britain’s men’s archery team at this summer’s Games, having missed out on the third and final automatic place to Alan Wills.

Wills, who lost all three of his encounters against Peart at the final selection shoot at Lilleshall last month, was given the nod having narrowly finished above the Ipswich archer in the final qualification standings.

Now, only a drastic loss of form or injury to Wills, Larry Godfrey or Simon Terry will open the door for Peart, but that has not dampened the enthusiasm of the 35-year-old.

“I will be training as a member of the (GB) team up until the Olympic opening ceremony, which is the last day that I could still be selected for the team,” said Peart, who won six of his first seven head-to-head matches at last month’s final selection shoot. “I have got to perform as strong as possible so should there be any injuries or loss in form, I will be able to step in and not take anything away from the team. My motivation is to shoot and perform the best I can.

“I have had a couple of off-seasons but I am working with new coaches and it is paying off. I am shooting well and I couldn’t have done any more in the final selection shoot.”

Peart’s partner, Nicky Hunt, who also missed out on automatic selection, could still yet be selected as a reserve for the women’s team, with a decision having yet to be made.