Alison Young is refusing to rule out a medal charge at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Spain despite a year where she is only coming to form late because of illness.
Young, who finished fifth in the Laser Radial at the London 2012 Olympics, claimed silver on her comeback at the Rio 2016 Test Event after illness ruled her out of the year’s opening regattas.
The ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander represent the first chance to qualify for Rio 2016 and Young is looking for a positive showing – she placed seventh at the corresponding event in 2011.
“I had a fair bit of time out of the boat at the start of this year, so it’s hard to come in with much expectation results-wise,” she said.
“I’m still kind of learning where I’m at in the fleet but having medalled in Rio I don’t think a medal is out of the question.
“I’ll certainly be going out there to do my best. You don’t put yourself on the startline to try and come second, so we’ll see what happens.
“With this being a qualification regatta and the first opportunity to qualify the nation for Rio, that is there at the back of your mind, but if you pay attention to the processes then the result will just be the consequence of that.”
© Sportsbeat 2014