FRESH from her first gold medal victory since becoming a mum, Olympian Sarah Dempsey has her sights set on home water glory.
The Sailing superstar achieved her first win with crew Saskia Clark at a major sailing event in Kiel, Germany, last month and this week they are taking on their first World Championship together.
But the big event for them is next month’s Skandia Sail for Gold regatta at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
For double gold Olympic medallist Sarah, 30, whose son Thomas recently turned one, the return to the podium at Kiel represented a triumph not only with a new teammate but also a new boat.
The former Yngling helm is continuing her quest to be the first British woman to win three in the smaller, faster 470 dinghy fleet after her keelboat class was dropped from the 2012 Olympic line-up.
For the past seven months, Sarah and fellow Olympian Saskia, who finished sixth at Beijing Olympics with helm Christina Bassadone, have been working hard to cement their partnership.
Following their victory at the ISAF World Cup regatta in Kiel, the duo returned to the borough to train for the 2010 Delta Lloyd 470 World Championships in Holland.
Sarah, of Wyke Regis, said: “This is a whole new challenge which brings more inspiration and motivation.
“To do the Yngling again would have been pretty tough.
“It makes such a difference with Weymouth being the Olympic venue because instead of going away for a block period of time to the Olympic venue, we’re already here.
“We do all the Grand Prix events like Miami, Princess Sofia, Kiel Week and the Worlds in Holland but the real priority for us is the Sail for Gold, it’s really important to be performing on home waters at the Olympic venue.”
She added: “It has been hard not being at the front but this is a long-term thing, the Olympics are in 2012 not tomorrow. Every day we sail we’re learning heaps.”
The pair, who joined forces seven months ago, are looking forward to competing at this year’s Sail for Gold in front of the home crowd, who will be able to watch racing action on big screens and follow the live race tracking.
Olympic 470 crew Saskia, 30, also of Wyke Regis, said: “It’s great to have won our first gold together, we’ve got loads to learn together and every day we get a bit better.
“It’s amazing to live just a mile away from the next Olympic venue, especially now we’ve got a new gym facility at the academy.
“That’s really made a difference to our onshore training.”
She added: “It’s all about winning gold, Sarah’s a master at that so I’m very pleased to be in the position I’m in at the moment.”
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