Team GB rockets up medals table (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)

Team GB rockets up medals table

5:53pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

Team GB is celebrating a golden five minutes when sharp-shooter Peter Wilson gunned his way to Olympic glory and Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie triumphed in the two-man canoe slalom.

Stott and Baillie took gold, with fellow Britons David Florence and Richard Hounslow winning silver at the Lee Valley White Water Centre.

Just minutes later at the Royal Artillery Barracks Wilson shot his way to gold in a dramatic double trap men's finals.

And soon after there was another medal as Gemma Gibbons took a brave silver in the women's 78 kg judo final.

The victories mean that Team GB is fifth in the medal table with 14 - four gold, six silver and four bronze.

Hopes of more gold on Thursday night rose after Team GB's Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton set a team sprint world record in qualifying. Just moments later China bettered the mark in the opening Olympic event at the London 2012 velodrome and then the British women were disqualified from the team sprint finals.

Four-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy also begins his London 2012 campaign on Thursday night. Hoy and Jason Kenny won team sprint gold in Beijing and are defending their title alongside newcomer Philip Hindes.

A tearful Pendleton, crowned the queen of the track after her Beijing sprint success, had no qualms over the decision, but 21-year-old Varnish was so devastated she opted out of media duties.

Pendleton said: "It was an illegal change. I came through in the change zone about a metre too early; we're talking about one hundredth of a second of a mistake there.

"You have to stick by the rules. The rules are there to make it a fair sport."