Team GB sailor James Peters paid tribute to the ‘ruthlessness’ of partner Fynn Sterritt as their Paris 2024 campaign begins.
Hayling Island’s Peters and Sterritt will begin their bid for Olympic gold in the 49er class on Sunday at Marseille Marina.
They will race three times on the first four days of competition and the 49er is the first class to dish out medals with the medal race slated for Thursday 1 August.
It has been a choppy campaign for Peters, but he sung Sterritt’s praises as they prepare to do battle in the Mediterranean.
He added: ‘I couldn’t be doing it with anybody else. When we came back and decided to campaign for this cycle, in my mind Finn was the only person I could see.
“There were some other great sailors in the team, but Finn was the one that I thought was capable of bringing home a medal and that was one of the main motivations.
“He’s the real deal and he’s got some brilliant skills and strengths that he brings to the team. He’s just one of those people you would always want him in your team.
“It doesn’t matter what sport you’re playing; he brings an intensity and ruthlessness in performance and I’m pretty lucky to have him as part of my team.
“It’s been a long journey and because there’s been so many phases in our development you have to remind yourself where it all started and what we’ve gone through.
“There’ve been so many lessons along the way and we’ve grown as a team. We’ve made mistakes, had a lot of great regattas and disappointments as well but it feels like we’re one of those teams that has the experience and flair to be at the top.”
Peters and Sterritt made major changes, including switching coach to be guided by Tokyo gold medallist Stu Bithell, after finishing 10th at the World Championships in January. They showed their Paris potential by being crowned European champions in May, just up the coast from Marseille.
A precocious talent in his youth, Peters won world, European and national youth titles within the span of a month at just 16, earning a nomination for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year before joining the British Sailing Team four years later in 2012.
And following a 16-year-wait to realise his Olympic ambitions, Peters is raring to set sail at the Games.
Peters said: “We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time now. We’ve had a year knowing we’ve been selected to put all the building blocks in place, and it’s been front of mind over that period.
“It’s going to be exciting to finally get to compete and do the business hopefully. If Finn and I turn up and be the team that I know I can be then I know I’ll enjoy it and love it.
“We can’t control the outcome, so we’re focused on just doing the things we know and that when we do them we perform well so we’re just focused on those aspects.”
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