Paul Goodison admits he is not as close to Laser rival Tom Slingsby as he once was.
Defending Laser champion plays down rift with Australian rival
Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison admits he is not as close to Australia's Tom Slingsby as he once was amidst talk of a rift between the pair.
The 34-year-old comes into this summer's Games as reigning Laser champion, having romped to victory in China four years ago.
Slingsby faltered in Qingdao but has since gone onto established himself as favourite for Olympic glory this summer ahead of Goodison.
The pair were reportedly involved in a heated argument in a Weymouth pub after the recent Sail for Gold regatta, leading Slingsby to say they "don't really get along too good any more".
Goodison was less forthcoming when asked about their relationship, but admitted things began to go downhill during a World Cup regatta in Majorca last year.
Disagreed
"I think it has been taken out of context quite a lot," Goodison said.
"Me and Tom were best mates for many years and had a bit of an incident in Palma where we disagreed and didn't see eye to eye.
"At that point I was deep into my trials and he was better mates with [British Laser hopeful] Nick [Thompson] than he was with me.
"So he was working with Nick to get the best they can do and win the trials and it's all about winning the Olympics.
"He is a great guy, a very talented sailor but, at the end of the day, he is the guy up there with three or four the others who are really tough to beat at the Olympic Games.
"I've got to put myself in a position where I can work as hard as I can at beating somebody and sometimes you can't be best mates with those people."
Coach
Goodison's quest for glory on home waters saw him recently join forces with Slingsby's former coach, Arthur Brett.
But, while admitting he has picked up a few hints about his rival, the Yorkshireman insists that was not the main motivating factor behind his appointment.
"I started working with Arthur at the beginning of this year," Goodison said.
"He was Tom's coach in the past so has got a lot of experience of what works for him and what doesn't.
"But for me, what he has really brought is a lot of the technical aspects of sailing in the stronger winds.
"My game has come on tremendously over the last six months so, while he has passed on some information about Tom, it is also about how to make myself better."
