London Olympic hopefuls: Ben Ainslie

Preparation for London 2012 After the world championships in Australia [where Ainslie is currently competing] it is the final run-in with six months until the Olympics. There will be a lot of work on the equipment, the fitness and as much training in Weymouth as possible. There is a lot to do but at the moment I am happy. It's hard work. I have been away for two years doing some other sailing with the America's Cup and in that time the world and European champions were both British sailors. So, to beat that quality of sailor just to qualify was tough after two years away. That was the first goal and I have managed to get through that and now I am working towards the Olympics. Before the world championships I was racing in the Extreme Sailing Series, that was a whole new style of sailing for me and it was good to get away and do something different and I learned a lot of new skills. It was good fun and now the focus is very much back on the Olympics. There is a little bit of an advantage in competing at a home Olympics but these days all of the teams are so professional that they have all been training in Weymouth for the last five or six years, so they all know the waters very well. We will have home support but with that support will probably come extra pressure and outside expectations. The biggest pressure always comes from within and that will be no different this time round. I think you just have to try to treat this Olympics like any other and set out your goals and try to achieve something and hopefully get your preparations right and if you do that then you just have to go out and sail well. The preparation is critical. Training Typically I train six days a week – although if it's windy it can be pretty brutal and you need to give the body a rest. I'll start with some aerobic work or weights. There's quite a lot of work on the boat, checking the equipment and maybe adjusting some of it. I'll then sail anywhere between two to five hours depending on the conditions, and finish with more physical training in the evening. It is time-intensive and normally it is better to go away where you don't have any distractions. Biography Born 5 February 1977, Macclesfield Educated Truro School, Truro Early career Started sailing at the age of eight. His father, Roddy, was an experienced sailor who skippered Second Life in the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74 Hobbies I am learning to fly, which is pretty time-consuming but it's fun and I am enjoying it Favourite band The Killers Favourite book New York by Edward Rutherfurd. It is a historical novel about New York and is an interesting read Key statistics 1996 Wins his first Olympic medal, a silver in the Laser class. Goes on to win two Laser world titles in 1998 and 1999 2000 Wins his first Olympic gold medal, again competing in the Laser. Is awarded an MBE the following year 2004 Competes in the Finn class for the first time at an Olympic Games. He wins gold and becomes world champion in 2005 2008 Strikes gold in the Finn again at Beijing, and is Britain's most successful ever Olympic sailor. Awarded a CBE Olympic countdown 5-11 December 2011 (ongoing) Sailing World Championships, Perth, Australia 22-28 January 2012 Olympic Classes Regatta, Miami, USA 20-27 April 2012 French Olympic Sailing Week, Hyères, France 4-9 June 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain 16-24 June 2012 Kiel Sailing World Cup Week, Kiel, Germany 29 July-11 August 2012 Olympic Sailing Regatta, Weymouth Venue The sea around Weymouth and Portland will host the 10 sailing events at the Olympics In numbers 7 World titles won by Ainslie – two in the Laser and five in the Finn 4 Olympic medals won by Ainslie. He is Great Britain's most successful ever Olympic sailor 24 British sailing golds at the Olympics. No country has won more sailing gold medals in the history of the Games