大象传媒

Ivan Marzocchi and his gun

Ivan is now a British citizen but he's originally from Italy and started out in the sport of karate. He achieved a black belt at the age of nine!

"That was the point I decided to end my career in show jumping. Especially if you are dealing with young horses, your sitting all day long and sometimes you fall off," explains Ivan.

"I picked up a big injury and at international level you need a doctor to renew your licence and he said, 'Ivan you can go on, but it's likely you'll end up in a wheelchair with your next big fall.'"

Following this medical advice, Ivan took the decision to change sports and started to get into shooting. He got into skeet shooting around four years ago and has progressed rapidly:

Ivan shooting clay pigeons

"It's all about shooting a round of 25 clays from a semi-circle of 8 stations. The clays are thrown from a high and a low tower," says Ivan.

Because the shooter moves from station to station the angle of sight on each clay pigeon is different and that's where the skill comes in being able to aim and fire quickly.

Ivan is currently the Essex champion and recently gained his first taste of international skeet shooting with the England team. His dream is to make the Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympic Games.

"At the moment I'm pretty much on track in terms of training techniques. And the right international experiences because at the end of the day you need to be against the top shooters around the world if you're to get the chance to go to the Olympics," he said.

Ivan Marzocchi in Fyfield

Now 40-years-old, he's turned himself into a full-time skeet shooter and practices at the Essex Shooting Ground in Fyfield near Ongar.

This ensures he's getting the amount of shooting needed to hit his target of 2012.听听