UK Sport, the Government agency which is the biggest distributor of National Lottery funding in Britain, unveiled their 'Mission 2012' - a campaign backed up by £600 million of public money to push Britain to fourth place in the medals table at the London Games.

 

Each sport is measured on a traffic light system to assess their progress and the first report shows that only one - shooting - is given the red light but a number of others including athletics and swimming are rated as 'amber' meaning there are significant obstacles to overcome.

 

A red light means there is "a clear obstacle to progress" which is "likely to result in signifcant under performance, wasted resources or harm to individuals".

 

Eleven Olympic and five Paralympic sports are rated as green including cycling, sailing, rowing and equestrian.

 

There is also a gold category for excellence but it is unlikely any will reach that level until after Beijing.

 

John Steele, UK Sport's chief executive, said: "Two years ago the Government announced a £600 million funding package for British Olympic and Paralympic sport to deliver something special at London 2012.

 

"Mission 2012 highlights that there is some work still to do in the system, which is a timely reminder that there is no room for complacency in high-performance sport.''

 

Shooting was rated as `red' due to problems with the governance - the governing body is viewed as being too fragmented - and the lack of facilities within the UK.

 

This is caused in part by firearms legislation which means pistol shooters have to train abroad.

 

But also complicating the issue is that there are more than 30 bodies in Britain responsible for shooting.

 

Liz Nichol, head of elite sport at UK Sport, said: "There are governance challenges.

 

"The overall environment is not as conducive to performance as it should be."

 

Peter Keen, the performance adviser for UK Sport, said shooting had an important role to play in 2012 if Britain was to reach its target of fourth place overall.

 

He said: "We need the sport to be where it can consistently win three or four medals at every Olympic Games.

 

"If were are going to reach fourth place shooting is a sport that has to step up because there are a lot of medals available in it.

 

"We have some good young shooters but it's still very embroynic."

 

But there is special praise for the sport of handball, which is given a green rating despite having started a programme from scratch.

 

It is a "shining example of what a sport can achieve with a 'can-do' attitude" UK Sport said.

 

The Paralympic sport of Goalball was also rated 'red' as a result a lack of coaches and in-fighting within the sport.

 

Meanwhile, a survey carried out by the Sheffield Hallam University as part of UK Sport's Mission 2012 project, shows that 90 of athletes are happy with the coaching they personally receive.

 

The survey also showed 85 per cent are pleased with the overall services they get from their sport - including sports science and medicine, equipment and overseas training opportunities.

 

However, one in three elite athletes estimate their sport costs them around £10,000 a year of their own money.

 

The Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "We are investing a record amount of public money into elite sport in the run-up to London 2012 so I am glad to hear that the vast majority of athletes are happy with the support they are getting from UK Sport and their respective sports governing bodies.

 

"'MIssion 2012' is working well and is vital to ensure that sports are making progress in both performance and governance terms.

 

"That can only help in ensuring that Team GB is in the best possible shape for medal success at London 2012."

 

UK Sport have split the 26 Olympic sports into three different categories depending on the prospect of them achieving medal success in 2012, high, medium and low.

 

The ranking in each category is as follows:

 

HIGH: Green - Cycling, Equestrian, Rowing, Sailing. Amber - Athletics, Swimming.

 

MEDIUM: Green - Badminton, Canoeing, Modern Pentathlon. Amber - Archery, Boxing, Diving, Gymnastics, Judo, Taekwondo, Triathlon. Red - Shooting.

 

LOW: Green - Fencing, Handball, Synchronised Swimming, Wresting. Amber - Basketball, Hockey, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting.