Oxford windsurfer Alice Read is setting her sights on the 2028 Olympics after competing at the World Championships.

After honing her skills on Farmoor Reservoir, Read recognises that competing at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer is too soon, with the Team GB place already secured by world vice-champion, Emma Wilson.

Read managed to compete in the gold fleet in Lanzarote despite grappling with sickness before the event and finished 33rd overall.

 

 

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She said: "It was a very challenging event.

"I kept fighting throughout and it was a solid outcome for me.

"I made some mistakes and I know I could have done better, but I'm coming away content."

The 25-year-old, who is part of the British Sailing squad, admitted to battling sickness, causing her to initially struggle to keep up with the grueling pace.

However she soon managed to fight back to secure a position in the much-coveted gold fleet by the third day of the competition.

She said: "It was amazing.

"I’m soaking up every experience as much as I can.

"The World Championships is the pinnacle in this class, I was happy and grateful to be in the gold fleet and seeing and learning off the girls in the front.

She added: "Something I’ve always admired is the work rate of those top girls and how much they really push in every race.

"Every race I was racing like the last one, so that’s the thing I’ve taken from them.

"They push so hard and that’s what I’m trying to do."

One of the lessons she gleaned from these elite competitors was their relentlessness, with Read commenting: "Every race I was racing like the last one, so that’s the thing I’ve taken from them.

"They push so hard and that’s what I’m trying to do."

Read previously left the sailing scene to study ocean science and marine conservation at the University of Plymouth, which she completed in 2021.

The British Sailing team then approached her to be part of the iQFOiL project for Paris 2024, which is going through its first cycle as the Olympic equipment in windsurfing.

Read said: "I would love to get a top ten and participate in a medal race, where in our discipline, anything can happen.

"The goal is the 2028 Olympics."