Goodison easing off competition to hone skills on Olympic waters

By Gerard Meagher, Sportsbeat

PAUL Goodison may be set to defend his Olympic crown on home soil in two years' time but the current European and world champion insists he hasn't dipped his toe in the water yet.

LONG-TERM PLANNING: Paul Goodison admits he's taking his foot off the pedal this season to hone his skills in Weymouth (onEdition)

Goodison completed his set last year, finally getting his hands on the world title in Canada last August just weeks after collecting his fifth European title.

Having made up for his Olympic disappointment in Beijing in 2008, collecting gold four years after he had to make do with fourth place in Athens, Goodison will be red-hot favourite to defend his title in 2012 with the added benefit of home advantage.

Goodison has relocated to the Olympic shores in Weymouth with partner and fellow sailor Saskia Clark and will spend the coming years honing his skills as Great Britain's finest bid to exploit their proximity to the 2012 venue.

And Goodison revealed he will be taking his foot off the pedal when it comes to international competition as he bids to learn the ropes on home waters.

"The big thing for over the next couple of months for me is that this year isn't actually all that important in terms of the Olympics and the qualification," said Goodison.

"So it's a fine line between doing enough to keep on top of my game and letting my competitors know that I'm still around and being the one to beat.

"And then not doing too much so you end up getting a little bit bored and find yourself going through the motions - it will be quite hard to balance.

"The important thing for me is not so much the resort-based competitions but spending some time out on the Olympic waters and come London 2012 hopefully we're a long way ahead of the competition.