Giles Scott believes he is right on track ahead of his Olympic Games debut in Rio after successfully defending his Finn World Championship title in Gaeta, Italy.
The Brit secured an unassailable 21-point lead with one day remaining to clinch his fourth title and in the process become the second most successful sailor in the Finn Gold Cup’s 60-year history.
The only man now ahead of him is four-time Olympic champion and fellow Brit Sir Ben Ainslie – who in November 2014 recruited him to help win the 35th America’s Cup in 2017.
Scott’s immediate focus however is this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.
And the 28-year-old - who opened his regatta with a 38th but now leads ahead of Friday’s final medal race which he just has to finish to confirm his title - admitted it felt good to warm himself up with another world gold to enter the history books.
“I was very much aware of it, it was certainly nice to take that step up to that and be one step below my [America’s Cup] boss [Ben Ainslie],”said Scott, who will now train in the UK before the Sailing World Cup in Weymouth and Portland.
“But it’s great. I think if you had taken me back eight years and told me that I was going to win one World Championship I would probably have shaken your hand there and said thank you very much, but to win four is just great.
“To win any World championship is massive, but to win the won three months out from the Games is great.
“We have seen this event as a dry run, a peaking event, we came here not to test anything but to perform well and to be able to do that sends a bit of a message out.
“Ultimately anything can happen at the Games but at the moment we are happy with where we are at and we just want to take the form we have forwards.”
Sportsbeat 2016