At the last Olympics in the Chinese capital, Team GB men's team narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals, finishing the tournament in fifth position.

But they have improved dramatically over the last few years and are now ranked fourth in the world.

Middleton (pictured above) said his team will be doing their upmost to medal at London 2012, when the hockey competition takes place at the Riverbank Arena in the Olympic Park.

"It is a great honour to have been selected in Team GB for my third Olympic Games," said the 28-year-old from Doncaster, who is the sixth-most capped player in the team's history with 96 appearances.

"I am very proud that I will have the chance to experience a home Olympics with the amazing support of the British crowd.

"We have an amazing group of guys who have put themselves through so much pain in search of a dream we all share.

"We will be giving our all to achieve this dream while providing a lot of excitement at the same time.

"I look forward to stepping on the pitch in London and hearing that Great British crowd getting behind us."


Middleton is joined in the team by: Nicholas Catlin; Jonathan Clarke; Matthew Daly; Daniel Fox; Ben Hawes; Ashley Jackson; Glenn Kirkham; Iain Lewers; Iain Mackay; Harry Martin; Robert Moore; Richard Smith; James Tindall; Alastair Wilson; and goalkeeper James Fair (all pictured above).

There is no shortage of international experience in the squad as it contains 12 members of the England team that won European gold for the first time in 2009.

Some of the squad were also in the England team that took silver at the 2010 Champions Trophy and bronze at the 2011 EuroHockey Nations Championship.

Team GB have won Olympic gold in men's hockey three times, at the first two tournaments in 1908 and 1920, and most recently at the Seoul 1988 Games.

They will be aiming to do the same at London 2012, where they have been drawn in Pool A alongside Australia, Spain, Pakistan, Argentina and South Africa.

The top two ranked teams will progress to the semi-finals.

"I'm delighted to welcome such a talented and experienced group of men's hockey players to Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics," said Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt.

"The consistent progress that the squad has achieved since the last Olympic Games is really impressive and they now have a fantastic opportunity to contend for a medal at the Riverbank Arena this summer."

London 2012 will be the fifth Olympics in which head coach Jason Lee has been involved.


He competed twice as a player at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 and has led the squad as head coach into the last two Olympic campaigns at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

"Under Jason Lee's leadership, the squad have developed a very fast, skillful and exciting brand of hockey, which has thrilled crowds and earned plaudits around the world over the last few years," continued Hunt.

"We will continue to give Jason and his squad our full support in the vital final weeks prior to the Games to ensure they have every opportunity to perform to their full potential on the greatest sporting stage of all at the Olympics.

"I'm sure the players selected today will relish the opportunity to play in front of a vocal and supportive 16,000 strong home crowd at the Riverbank Arena, and the support could give Team GB that little bit of extra energy and inspiration needed to challenge for the medals."

In preparation for the Games, the Team GB squad is scheduled to participate in a high standard tri-nation event in Santander, Spain, from July 14-18 before heading to London for the Games.

The event will see them face their they will face their Spanish hosts – who won silver in Beijing – as well as eight-time Olympic champions India (pictured above).

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