The Australian Sailing Team's Jessica Crisp gets her first look at the 2012 London Olympic Games course when the 2009 RS:X World Championship gets underway in Weymouth on Friday.
The three-time Olympian finished fifth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and has been training extensively since competing at the Delta Lloyd Holland Regatta in May this year.
“I've had an excellent preparation for the Worlds,” said Crisp. “I've been combining my sailing with stints at the AIS in Canberra so now I'm fitter and stronger than I was earlier in the European season.”
“Heading into the regatta I'm feeling good and am ready to race, you're always nervous and wonder if your boat speed will be good beforehand but I feel I'm ready for the challenge ahead.”
“Over the last couple of months I've spent a lot of time on the water which was a change from what I did going into last year's Olympics, making my training load quite large as I had all of my off water cardio and gym work on top of the sailing,” she said.
“My goal for the Worlds is to do as well as I can in every race, taking it one race at a time and hopefully that will get me on the podium.”
Crisp is in Weymouth with Australia's RS:X coach Lars Kleppich, himself an Olympic Bronze medalist, with the pair keen to get an early look at the venue for the 2012 Games.
“From our first trip to Weymouth we hope to get a feel for the wind and the water conditions that we're likely to encounter at the Games themselves,” said Kleppich. “From this we can adapt our training over the coming years appropriately to assimilate to the local conditions.”
“It's very important for us to spend as much time here in Weymouth between now and 2012 as local knowledge counts for a lot and the more we can race here the better we'll be when it comes to the Olympics,” he said.
Racing gets underway on Friday, 4 September with the medal race to be run on Thursday, 10 September.
For more information visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au
– Craig Heydon
