BOA Unveils First Team GB Athletes for London 2012

(ATR) Britain's sailors are looking to rule the waves at the London 2012 Olympics, as chef de mission Andy Hunt unveiled the first Team GB athletes for the Games.

Eleven sailors were announced at the Old Royal Navy College in Greenwich, London where Britain remembers its long history of sailing that includes 50 Olympic medals.

"This is a key milestone – it represents the beginning of the creation of Team GB," British Olympic Association CEO Hunt told a press conference at the college.

"The eleven sailors are a good mix of experience, including six Olympic medallists, as well as promising Olympic debutants."

Hunt also praised the athletes' results that saw them qualify for selection.

Triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie was the first athlete to be selected for Team GB. If he triumphs again next summer, he will become the most successful ever Olympic sailor. Kate and Lucy MacGregor are the first sisters in British sailing history to be picked for Team GB.

Asked about the prospect of achieving this honor, Ainslie was not too concerned about achieving the accolade. "It’s something you try not to think about. Each Olympics is a goal in itself, all I’m doing is concentrating on reaching that goal which is a goal medal – then we’ll think about what’s next," he told reporters.

Ainslie also spoke of how tough the qualification process was this time around saying "havingthe Olympics in the UK puts that added bit of pressure on, we all want to compete on home waters, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"We are all very happy but there’s also a sense of responsibility. There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but hopefully we can do everyone proud."

Team GB is the world’s most successful sailing team having won 25 gold medals since the sport made its debut in the Paris 1900 Olympic Games – and sailing team leader Stephen Parks admits that Britain is the team to beat.

"We certainly have a goal of four medals next year. If things go well, we could even win more," he told the media briefing.

"But there’s no doubt that the rest of the world is chasing our heels in terms of trying to knock GB off the podium. It will be very tough for any nation to get to the six medal tally they had in Beijing."

Hunt told Around the Rings that the sailors had already done well to make the team.

"To qualify they recorded some extraordinary performances," he said, adding: "In terms of preparing our teams for next year we are completely on track. It has been a great summer with some terrific results across all the sports."

Hunt also emphasised that more nations would be out to beat Team GB on home turf next summer. But he remains confident that Britain will achieve its target of fourth in the medal table.

"We want teams and athletes to just focus on their own performance," he said.

"We will support them all the way, but it is going to be tough. It will be about the 0.1 percent and not about the 1 per cent but as long as we are doing our job properly then the medal table will look after itself."

Reported by Christian Radnedge