THE waiting is nearly over for Micky Yule. Holed up in the Paralympics GB training camp in Belo Horizonte, it is now just seven days until the Scottish powerlifter takes to the stage in Rio de Janeiro and attempts to raise the bar at least one step higher than his agonising fourth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. That means just seven more days of hard work and seven more days adhering to the strict diet which has seen him drop two weight categories in the last 18 months, all the while retaining sufficient power in his -65 kg frame to lift loads in the region of 190kg which would see him contend for a medal.

For a man who said he had suffered more flashbacks about his fourth place in Glasgow than the day he got both legs blown off by an IED as he served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010, it is fair to say the task in hand has the former soldier's undivided attention. The myriad ongoing political issues around the competition, such as poor ticket sales, funding cuts which had threatened to close certain venues and put the participation of several countries in jeopardy, as well as the suspension of the Russian paralympic squad, are all part of the background noise.

"I don't concentrate too much about the politics and what is on the news about Rio because it is not going to make me lift any more," Yule said. "There are certainly no funding issues with Paralympics GB. We couldn't be looked after any better. And that won't change when we get into the Rio village itself.

"I just need to concentrate on getting the lifts in. The people in Rio I know will have such a good feeling for us. OK so they might not feel quite the same about their leaders and stuff like that, but I know they will make the Paralympics for us, because their enthusiasm is infectious. Already over here people can't stop asking stuff like 'what are you lifting?', 'when are you lifting?' and 'can we come and watch you?'.

"Everybody in my event who is contending for a medal is going to be there, there are no issues with any of them. I am the European champion and I smashed the two Russians when I won that. So the Russian ban doesn't affect me at all."

Having competed on the last day of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 37-year-old is delighted to be put out of his misery early on in the Paralympic schedule. Competing in a similarly early position at the Invictus Games in Orlando this year, Yule put Britain's first gold medal on the board and he would dearly love to so again here. He hopes his brave move to drop in weight can help him surprise a few people.

"The Invictus Games was a brilliant event - it was the same time difference and the same temperature so it was a good test event for me," said Yule, one of three British squaddies cut down in their prime who will all be in Rio this fortnight. "I managed to lift a PB of 190kg there and hopefully, if I can produce something similar, then I won't be far away from the medals."

"I've got seven days to go and I have been on this diet for 14 weeks," added the man from Musselburgh, who will be joined by his wife in Rio with children Charlie and Tilly staying at home. "I need to keep my body fat down and it is hard but you have to ask yourself do you want to eat some crap or do you want to work harder? I am not seeing any decline in my performance and I am hoping that will survive into competition."

Yule, understandably and gainfully employed from time to time as a motivational speaker, has no shortage of motivation. "This is the next level up from the Commonwealth Games," said Yule. "I am not expected to medal here. In fact, there are a few people who will think I am going to come last. The most I have lifted in this weight group is 180 kg. Now I might come last but that was 18 months ago. We are stronger than we ever have been.

"I probably need a couple of guys to have a bad day and me to have the best day I have ever had - that is the truth. The guys ahead of me are all multiple paralympic medallists. I think they are already dishing out the medals between themselves. But they have to watch themselves, they need to be on their game or I'll take that medal away from them. They might not see me coming until it is too late for him.

"Does it matter if I come fifth? I will put pressure on everybody to get a medal. If these crazy guys are away ahead then they will deserve to get the medals. But if I sniff the slightest chance, then I will jump all over them."