Wharf banker has eye on 2012 discus final

Although Britain has never had a podium finish in discus, Buhari believes Murray's success in getting to the Wimbledon final last weekend shows tradition is there to be changed.

"We've got three discus throwers achieving world class distances and if we got into the final then we have a great chance of getting someone on the podium," said the 30-year-old.

"Andy Murray was the first Brit to make it to a Wimbledon final since 1938 so it shows what can happen. Sport's unpredictable - with a home crowd behind you anything can happen."

With some big European names to take on this summer it will still be a huge achievement to win a medal but Buhari believes Britain has never looked in better shape in the discus.

"Robert Harting from Germany is a big challenger and the Beijing winner Gerd Kanter from Estonia is always up there but anyone who makes the final will be in with a big chance," he said.

"In Beijing we had no discus throwers. In Athens we had just one man and one woman. To have three men is a first."

Despite throwing the Olympic A-standard of 65m, Buhari came third in the trials, narrowly missing out on second place, which would have guaranteed him a spot.

However, his performances over the last year convinced the selectors he had to be one of the three going to the London Games.

Buhari, who trains with Newham and Essex Beagles, was delighted to receive the call.

"It feels fantastic," he said. "Really awesome. Balancing working in the City and being an athlete is a challenging thing to do. But I now get to accomplish my dream, performing for GB in a London Olympics."

He takes a break from his banking job at Credit Suisse this week, when he heads to Portugal with Team GB for late preparations. He then heads to the Athlete's Village and will begin competing in the qualifying section at the Olympic Stadium on August 5.