Video interview with Ben Ainslie

Gold for Ben Ainslie at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta © Richard Langdon / Skandia Team GBR

Three-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie fired a warning shot to his London 2012 rivals, insisting he is far from done despite storming to gold at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta.

The 34-year-old dominated from start to finish at the London 2012 test event, heading into Saturday’s Finn medal race just needing to finish to secure the title, with his lead over nearest rival Pieter Jan Postma from Holland an unassailable 19 points.

But that didn’t stop Ainslie from laying down one last marker as he claimed victory to win by 31 points, having won five of the last six races on Olympic waters.

And Ainslie had yet more bad news for his rivals, insisting he doesn’t intend on slowing down anytime soon with the Games fast approaching.

“I think it was important to finish on a good note and it was certainly a great opportunity to get on the Nothe course because we haven’t sailed there much and try to learn more about it and I was happy with how the race turned out,” he said.

“I had a sticky start and the second day wasn’t great as I had some sticky issues there but I came back strong after that and I am happy with the way I finished off.

“There is a lot of positives to take from the regatta but a lot to take away too and work on.

“But we know a lot more about the venue for the Olympics after this summer and we will need to keep working away over the next 12 months, focus on the important things and just keep going.

“I am happy with the way things have gone but it is in 12 month’s time that counts as that is where you want to be winning so I’ve got to keep thinking about ways to improve and keep pushing.”

Ainslie will now recharge the batteries before his rivals try to get the better of him again at December’s World Championships in Perth.

And despite winning at a canter last week, Ainslie believes there are still plenty of improvements to be made before the year is over.

“This regatta is a tough regatta physically because of the very windy conditions so I am looking forward to going away now and having a bit of a rest,” he added.

“It has been a hard six or seven months since I got back in the boat and it has been pretty non-stop really so I am looking to give my body a bit of a rest and just look towards World Championships.

“But I know I can still improve on certain areas, there always are, so I will be looking at those and looking to put those right before Australia.”

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