Champion sailor Ainslie has his eye on another gold

By Rob Virtue on May 23, 2012 2:00 PM |

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One of Britain's best hopes for a gold medal at this summer's Games visited Canary Wharf this week.

Sailor Ben Ainslie, who is already a three-time Olympic champion, said he had been looking forward to London 2012 ever since the bid was won back in 2005.

"It was a pivotal moment in my career as I was part of the team trying to win the bid and I will always remember the day we beat Paris," said the 35-year-old.

"Standing in Trafalgar Square when the announcement was made the atmosphere was electric. I said then 'I've got to be a part of this.' Having the Olympics here would be amazing and that's when I started training for Beijing."

In China, Ainslie picked up his third gold in four Olympics - he also won silver in Atlanta in his debut Games - as the British sailing team in China won a record six medals.

However, Ainslie said it wasn't certain that home waters would help Team GB surpass that total when they hit the coast in Weymouth in July.

He said "We've got a pretty strong squad and have done for the last three or four Olympics. You might have great strength in depth going into the Games but you've got to work very hard on the day."

Ainslie said he wasn't concerned by pressure put on him by fans and press to win gold this summer.

He said "The pressures will be higher than ever but I don't think they will match my internal desire for success."

- JP Morgan Asset Management is the title sponsor of Ben Ainslie's Olympic campaign. Latest updates www.facebook.com/benainslie1977 or show your support for Ben and his boat Rita on twitter #benandrita

Photo courtesy of onEdition.