HEREFORDSHIRE sailor Martin Wrigley hopes his newfound stability can propel him to this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
The 27-year-old has endured a rocky time since Tokyo, with initial mixed 470 partner Eilidh McIntyre announcing her retirement last year.
Hereford’s Wrigley hastily formed a new partnership with Bettine Harris, 21, and after a testing maiden year the pair are ready to test themselves against the very best at the 470 World Championships in Palma de Mallorca, with the potential prize of an Olympic quota spot also on offer.
Wrigley said: “It has been a lot of chop and change for me for quite a few years now so to be able to settle down with Bee and form a really nice partnership has been nice.
“We are looking at a full four-year cycle and it is exciting to see what we can do.
“It feels like we are really starting to gel. Last year was a really difficult year as we had no time to prepare. We were really playing catch-up.
“The nice thing about our partnership is that we see there is a lot more to come. I’m really excited to see what we can do in the next cycle to put us in a good spot for the next Olympics.”
The pair’s journey makes its next big stop in the Balearics, with the World Championships taking place between February 24 and March 3.
The prospect of Olympic qualification, with one European quota spot up for grabs, is impossible to ignore and while Wrigley knows it will be a tough task, it is one the pair are more than willing to try and tackle.
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