Not only did Nick Thompson miss out on the London Olympics in 2012 he suffered from appendicitis but, with a return to racing imminent, he’s vowing to make up for lost time.
Thompson had known since September 2011 that Paul Goodison would once again be sailing the sole British Laser boat at the Olympics, having beaten him to Beijing 2008 and then won gold.
But what he didn’t anticipate was that he would make just one competitive appearance in the Laser in 2012 as appendicitis struck and ruled him out of bidding for an elusive World Championship title.
The 26-year-old claimed a second successive silver at the 2011 edition while in 2009 in Canada he won bronze as Goodison took gold however he was forced to sit out in May last year.
Thompson is back though and will begin his 2013 campaign at the upcoming Princess Sofia Trophy, the third leg of the ISAF World Cup series and the one regatta where he sailed the Laser last year.
He also took to the water at the Farr 40 and Melges 32 class World Championships in September but is determined to get his hands on his first world title in the Laser in Oman in November.
“The lowlight of last year was only being able to do one event, Palma at the beginning of the year before coming down with appendicitis right before the World Championships,” said Thompson.
“Not competing there was very disappointing for me and then obviously watching the Olympic Games and not being involved was quite a challenge.
“But it has certainly given me a new motivation and I’ve been out the boat for a little while and I’m trying to get myself back ready for racing.
“The World Championships is the focus, if it’s not the Olympic Games, the worlds is the priority so I’m certainly looking for at least a medal this year and certainly looking to try and bring home gold.
“I’ve managed to come pretty close in the last three World Championships I’ve completed, so to move one step up the podium to get the gold is certainly the focus.”
After racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy, Thompson will head to Hyeres in France for the final leg of the ISAF World Cup series before preparing for the European Championships in the summer.
And Thompson wants success against his continental rivals in Ireland this year as well as he slowly begins turning his attentions onto attempting to make his Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games.
“It’s a pretty busy schedule for now. Training is going well. Obviously we are at the start of a new cycle so the focus is now on Rio for 2016,” he added.
“At the moment we are just trying to get the groundwork in and get the base in place ready to progress for the Olympics later on.
“And outside of the worlds I’m looking at the Europeans where again the top three is the main aim and where again I’m going to try and win. That would be the priority.”
© Sportsbeat 2013