Paul Goodison: Waiting to Conquer on Weymouth's Waters

Whenever he inhales the view from his house, which majestically overlooks Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour, Paul Goodison must be filled with immense excitement. In fact, he probably feels pretty similar to a monarch surveying their kingdom; and with good reason, too.

Pending qualification that will surely be inevitable, Goodison will defend his Olympic gold next August in sailing’s Laser class at a venue less than five minutes’ drive away from his front door. Even for a man with a steely, matter-of-fact demeanour, the prospect of representing Great Britain in home waters is evidently an exhilarating one. Already, more than a year before the Games get underway, the anticipation in his voice is palpable.

“The atmosphere down here is fantastic,” beams the 30 year-old with audible gusto. “There is massive competition during training because all of the foreign teams are down here as well. Just last week, the German, Spanish and American guys were on the water at the same time as us.”

“It’s even more hectic than it was in the build up to China because Weymouth is really accessible with better facilities that are up and running twelve months before the start. In previous years, we haven’t been allowed into the venue until a week beforehand.”

“All that means is that I am getting a fresh batch of training partners every week, like fresh ammunition. There are more people to beat.”

Goodison’s abrasive confidence is not misplaced. A key contributor to Britain’s pristine pedigree in the sport over the past decade, he is a sailor with a truly razor-sharp competitive edge. His psyche has been ingrained with an all-consuming hunger for Olympic glory since accompanying Ben Ainslie of his successful Syndey gold rush in 2000 as a non-participating training partner. Finishing in fourth, agonisingly short of the podium, four years later in Athens only fuelled a burning desire that finally came to fruition in Beijing.

Having scaled the pinnacle of single-man dinghy sailing, Goodison seriously contemplated leaving the class behind in pursuit of a new challenge. That was before London’s allure arrested him. Now, captivated by retaining his most prized accolade at Weymouth, he is immersed in a regimented schedule, honing in uncompromisingly on a golden horizon.

“The biggest difference is with the logistics and travel,” Goodison explains, “because there obviously isn’t the need to shift boats around and travel too much. There’s the recovery too. Rather than having the routine of being away for three weeks before come back for ten days, I can spend five days on the water and rest for the remainder of the week.”

“It is going to be a challenging course. As everyone knows, British weather is very varied so we will all need to be preparing for those conditions. You can speak about wind changes all you like but you really have to spend as much time as you can out there.” 

“Because the course is on our doorstep, every time we go sailing we are learning about the conditions. As a group, collectively as sailors, we are recording a great deal of data and processing that as a team, rather than as individuals. With that in place, we should be in good shape.”

Despite a rather underwhelming performance from Goodison at the Hyeres regatta at the end of last month, winning in Palma and finishing third in Miami in the previous two ISAF World Cup events will have galvanised his self-belief very nicely. At the start of June, the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta represents an extremely important section of the Olympic checklist. Still smarting from the relative ignominy of being beaten into second by Australian Tom Slingsby at the corresponding event last year, he is chomping at the bit to reassert his authority as the man to beat in 2012.

“Over the four year cycle in the run up to Beijing, I made a conscious effort to remain unbeaten at the Olympic venue,” Goodison says, exposing the meticulous mentality of a true champion. “I managed that, and tried to implement the same plan this time round. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened but I will be going flat out to ensure that I get the result I need at Sail for Gold.”

 He pauses for a second, almost daring someone to conjure enough temerity to inquire what result that might be, before continuing snappily, “That would be a victory.”

As testament to his unassuming nature, Goodison’s achievements become all the more impressive when he discusses his modest beginnings in a sport he is now in the upper echelons of.

“Sailing was really my parents passion,” he ponders, with the first trace of self-deprecation. “As a kid, all I wanted to be was a footballer but at around twelve years old I got a knee injury that stopped me playing for about six months. Then, as a kind of escapism, I went along with my father, started racing and really got into it.”

At this point, somewhat unexpectedly, recollection triggers a profound introspect for Goodison. In a typically intense tone, he divulges an unapologetically vivid account of what is required, psychologically, to compete at the very top level.

“You need a certain set of attributes to get to where I am. You need to have a stubborn, determined and motivated nature. When things are going wrong, you need to learn from them and move things forward."

“Nothing comes easy and, a great deal of the time, whether you achieve comes down to how much you want it. If you do want it and the passion’s there, you will try to go the extra mile to make sure what you want to happen does happen.”

More often that not, British sailors do want it enough to ensure success. In Beijing, Great Britain’s haul of six medals, four of them golden, was twice that of any other nation. Now, with the majority Team Skandia housed in and around Weymouth, getting more familiar with the Olympic course every day, only an insane man would bet against a similar domination next summer.

Able to train and unwind in equal measure with his teammates, employing activities like rock climbing and kite surfing during his time off to satiate his competitive longings, Goodison has a robust platform from which to prove himself as an irresistible reigning champion. With characteristic buoyancy, he finishes with a fixed gaze.

“Rather than thinking about selection (for the Games), it’s better to be thinking about how good you need to be to win an Olympic medal. That’s what I’m focused on. That’s what I’m trying to achieve.”
 Nothing else but gold will do for Goodison, whose singularity of ambition is nothing short of ferocious. There doesn’t seem to be any point in asking him about his aspirations beyond next August and his final words staunchly justify my inkling.

“With my training schedule and everything else, I try not to plan too much for after the Games. I’m so focused on 2012 that to be thinking about anything else other than getting the best out my boat is just negative energy.”

 You get the feeling that it will take more than a hint of negative energy to prevent Goodison from reaching his goal, but he is not taking any chances. 

This interview was conducted in conjunction with The British Olympic Association, the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They prepare the 'Best of British' athletes for, and lead them at, the summer, winter and youth Olympics, and deliver extensive support services to Britain's Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies to enhance Olympic success.

Picture Credit: Richard Langdon/ Skandia Team GBR.

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