Patience pays for Luke
Luke Patience says he almost gave up on his Olympic sailing dreams before a switch of event.
Last Updated: 18/04/12 5:31am
Luke Patience almost gave up on his Olympic sailing dreams, but a chance switch to the 470 class means he will now head to London with a medal very much in his sights.
The Scotsman had no luck in the 420 class and had all-but given up on competing at London 2012 until forging a somewhat accidental pairing with Stuart Bithell.
The pair had sailed 420s against one another as teenagers and Bithell suggested they give the 470s a go. Two weeks later they left the World Championships in Copenhagen with a silver medal.
"We had sailed together for five days in Weymouth before the last one, packed up the boats and drove to Denmark," Patience said.
"Obviously we did a couple of days pre-race training but literally a couple of days. We sailed in the boat for hardly any hours so that was quite cool."
Success
More success followed but, by their own admission, they let their foot off the gas.
They tasted some poor results as a consequence and their hopes of securing the solitary British berth for the Games looked over when Nick Rogers and Chris Grube were selected for last-year's Test event.
"Not getting selected for the pre-Olympics regatta was disappointing," said Rochdale-born Bithell.
"That said, it was a blessing in disguise to feel that failure. It really did fire us up to really get out heads down, concentrate and up our game a bit for the World Championships and the Europeans."
Having taken bronze at the Europeans, the galvanising effect of the disappointment was evident in December when the pair traipsed over to Perth, Australia for the 2011 World Championships.
Two years on from their 470 debut in the competition, they again took home silver medal - one which secured their spot in the British squad for the Olympics.
Battle
"It has been so long and such a hard battle to win the trials, it is important to celebrate the small successes," Patience said of their selection.
"We have worked for this and should celebrate. But there is a time when that needs to stop. This will mean nothing if we come fourth in the Olympics, absolutely nothing.
"We're not going to make that mistake and are very aware that it is the Olympic Games that matter, not the fact we came through the trials. We have won the battle, but not the war."
Bithell echoed the helmsman's comments, adding: "After our first silver medal in Denmark in 2009, we set a programme to get a gold medal in the Olympic Games.
"We're on track for that because we got over the first hurdle but there is still plenty of work to do."
Not so long ago they were left questioning their future. Now the only question is what colour medal will they be bringing home.
