WHEN Britain’s Olympic contender Lucy Macgregor begins Match Racing on Sunday, July 29, she will have her little sister by her side.

But helm Macgregor, 25, says far from being the easy choice Kate, 21, was undoubtedly ‘the best person for the job’.

The Skandia Team GBR sisters and crewmate Annie Lush are unique in that they are all born and bred Poole girls, who will be representing their country on the waters of their home county.

Macgregor said: “My whole family sailed so I started sailing earlier than I can remember really.

“I learned to race aged eight at Poole Yacht Club in a Mirror dinghy.

“The friends I met at my sailing club were the group of friends I grew up closest too, it was a good laugh.

“Kate and I sailed together in Mirror, our older sister Nicky also sailed – she’s now a teacher in Southampton.”

For Macgregor, being an Olympian was never the dream, she just ‘loved’ sailing and was competitive doing it.

She said: “It wasn’t until 2004, when Nicky and I came second at the 420 World Championships, which qualified us on the Olympic front, that I even thought about it.”

Macgregor deferred her entry to a Sports Science degree at Exeter University to focus on Olympic classes sailing – and never looked back She said: “About a month into my gap year I started sailing the Yngling keelboat with Annie and Shirley (Robertson – double gold medallist).

“That was a massive turning point and suddenly all our focus was on the 2008 Games and I ended up not going to uni.”

The trio narrowly missed out on Beijing Olympic selection to Wey-mouth’s Sarah Ayton’s crew.

It was not until she was denied the Team GB slot that Macgregor realised how much she wanted it.

She added: “That’s not to say I would have tried any harder, it was just that I realised how much I wanted to qualify when I couldn’t have it.

“It was really gutting at the time.”

Macgregor, who crewed at the time but had always dabbled with helming, decided to lead her own campaign to London 2012 with Lush.

She said: “We sailed with Ali Martin for quite a long time but although we were good friends, it didn’t quite click.

“We then tried different people from a whole stretch of backgrounds from offshore sailors to Olympic people, to those who had done club racing, you name it, and actually it was Kate who turned out to be the best.

“Kate had been our training partner. It’s not anything to do with the fact she’s my sister, she was the best one there.”

During the Olympic build-up, the Match Race Girls rented a house at Ferrybridge, Weymouth, with Olym-pic windsurfer Bryony Shaw but this week, as the countdown reaches 10 days to go, they moved into Team GB accommodation at RYA Portland House, Osprey Quay.

To win gold on home waters is the aim, but Macgregor’s crew must first ‘focus on getting there’.

Match Racing, like tennis, features fierce one-on-one competitions with round robins and knockout rounds before competitors have a chance at the medals.

Most of the Match Racing will be held by the Nothe ticketed spectator site, as it promises to be an exciting spectacle.

Macgregor added: “It’s going to be a long, long event.

“It’s really special being a home Games but our job is exactly the same – to go and sail around the course as quick as we can and beat the other boat.

“We’ve got to keep it real and keep checking in with what we’ve got to do at the end of the day.”

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MEET the London 2012-bound British sailing team. All this month, in the final build up to the home Games, the Dorset Echo is putting the spotlight on each of our Olympic and Paralympic contenders. Today it’s Elliott-class Match Racer Lucy Macgregor...

Name: Lucy Macgregor

Date of birth: November 28, 1986

Star sign: Sagittarius

PLACE OF BIRTH: Aberdeen

CURRENT HOMETOWN: Poole

BIGGEST INFLUENCE IN YOUR CAREER? My parents have always been really supportive of me, but sailing with Annie and Shirley in the Yngling was a fantastic experience and I learnt a huge amount from it

FAVOURITE UK PLACE TO SAIL? Poole Harbour! Beautiful surroundings, plenty of sailors there just for racing or enjoying the sports, it’s a great place to go sailing!

IF YOU WERE NOT A PROFESSIONAL SAILOR, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A fighter pilot in the RAF!

WORST HABIT? Probably being too relaxed at times.

GREATEST PASSIONS OUTSIDE SAILING? Any sport really, I play Hockey for Bournemouth Hockey Club, but just anything that means I’m outside.

ANY LUCKY CHARMS OR RITUALS? I have some lucky union jack socks!

FAVOURITE REALITY SHOW? Strictly Come Dancing and, yes, I would definitely go on it!

• Racing in the Elliott 6m Match Racing class begins on Sunday, July 29, with the medal races scheduled for Saturday, August 11.