Cautious Rickham taking nothing for granted in Paralympic quest

By Ben Baker, Sportsbeat

PARALYMPIC sailor Alexandra Rickham is taking nothing for granted ahead of the London 2012 despite her and partner Niki Birrell's undisputed number one ranking in the SKUD 18 class.

CAUTIOUS CONFIDENCE: Alexandra Rickham is taking nothing for granted on the road to London 2012 (onEdition)

Ever since their heartbreaking fifth place in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics the pair have swept all before them winning July's World Championships and lifting the ISAF World Cup title last week.

But as if to prove her point they finished second behind Australian duo Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachel Cox at last week's Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, the final World Cup leg, in Weymouth.

And with the shores of Dorset the venue for both the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events Rickham admits her and Birrell can't afford to rest on their laurels over the next two years.

"There have been lots of learning points and the Australians have given us lots to think about and that is driving us forward and just allowing us to learn more," said Rickham.

"You can definitely get complacent when you train and sail in Weymouth all the time and then suddenly you're in a race scenario and it's very different.

"We've been very aware of that and we've been trying to base our campaign on the assumption that you have to be good in all conditions and you can't just get used to being in the same place all the time.

"We're trying to approach it as if we're not based here. You can't just sit around and hope that being experienced here is going to be enough to make sure we win.

"You can't ever live on your laurels because there will always be someone there to knock you off your perch."

Rickham - who learnt to sail at Queen Mary's Sailing Club in Ashford - and Birrell have left no stone unturned in their preparations for 2012 and have even moved to the Olympic shores in Weymouth.

And Rickham, who alongside Birrell also finished last year's Sail for Gold Regatta in second, is convinced all the sacrifices they have made will be worth it - provided they scoop gold in 2012.

"We have the Paralympics in our heads all the time spurring us on. At the end of the day, the only thing that really, really truly matters to us is winning Paralympic gold here in 2012," she added.

"Every step along the way gets you that bit closer but all of the other events are all minor to the Games. It's also been great to be at Weymouth actually racing.

"It's one thing that we train here a lot but it's another thing to be here actually racing a World Cup event so from that point of view we've also learned loads about the venue itself.

"Hopefully we can stand up against the rest of the world because as world and world Cup champions we are going to be the team that everyone wants to beat."