Dickinson has work to do on international stage
Chichester sailor Fin Dickinson says his year will be best spent toughening up.
Dickinson, 20, found the going hard at the ILCA World Championships, battling to finish 72nd in Adelaide.
The star, who sails out of Hayling Island, believes there is plenty of work to do off the water in his bid to close the gap to the top sailors but is determined to put in the graft in order to do so.
“It was a tricky week,” he said.
“Everyone knew it was going to be a tough event, it’s the last worlds before the Olympics so everyone is ramping up.
“I don’t think I clicked with this venue very well, I never found myself doing things that resulted in me ending up near the front of the fleet and while that doesn’t happen often I can do it sometimes.
“I’m hoping to get on top of my physical fitness and weights this year, which will hopefully round me out as a sailor and that’s something you need time to do and is hard to balance with sailing.
“It’s not particularly event year for me, I’m just trying to work on my fitness.”
Dickinson demonstrated his potential when crowned ILCA 7 U21 world champion last year but confesses he is still getting to grips with the demands of the top level.
“The psychological part of sailing is massive,” he said.
“Everyone comes into these events with stress and pressure but as a young sailor, it’s one of those new things that has only just started to appear for me.
“Learning to deal with it and sailing to your best is a fundamental skill in becoming a world class sailor.
"I’m going to reflect on that and try to control what’s going on in my mind.”
Dickinson had just a fiveday turnaround before he left for the European Championships, where he finished 39th last year.
Looking further ahead, he hopes he has a role to play in helping Paris-bound Team GB star Micky Beckett in his quest for Olympic glory after the two-time world silver medallist bagged bronze Down Under.
“I haven’t known him for that long," added Dickinson.
"I’m obviously one of the youngest in the squad and after watching him go from narrowly missing out on section for Tokyo to bounce back through this cycle and become one of the best laser sailors in the world, there’s no reason why he can’t win gold at the worlds and the Olympics.
“It’s quite inspirational to watch really and I’d like to follow in his footsteps eventually.
“The pathway is working well and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to train with him and offering a hand to get him gold at Paris.”
Follow the British Sailing Team on Instagram at @britishsailing
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