LYMINGTON sailor Vita Heathcote believes a testing European Championship experience will stand her in good stead when she makes her Olympic debut this summer.

Heathcote and Chris Grube finished 16th in the mixed 470 continental showpiece in Cannes, just down the coast from where Olympic medals will be decided in Marseille come August.

The pair will not race competitively until then and the 22-year-old is looking forward to putting in the hard yards and ironing out their weaknesses in the vital final weeks of preparation.

“It was a really good week for us to have, however painful it was at some points,” she said.

“It was a very different event to all the others this year, we had a lot of racing in super light conditions, which was really useful to expose our weaknesses in those conditions as we hadn’t sailed much in them as a team.

“It’s good to do that at this stage, before the Olympics, so we can be more prepared when the time comes.

“We became more comfortable throughout the week and by the end of it, we weren’t going too badly at all.”

Heathcote and Grube have had an action-packed few months with back-to-back regattas, the highlight coming with their stunning silver medal at the World Championships which earned Team GB an Olympic quota spot in March.

The pair’s selection was confirmed later that month and Heathcote will be using all the experience of two-time Olympian Grube, 39, as she prepares for her big stage bow.

“It’s very reassuring knowing he’s done it a couple of times before,” she said.

“He knows exactly what to expect.

“He’s calm about it, he is a steady influence and a really good sounding board for advice and everything in the build-up.

“Anyone who has been to the Olympics always says you never feel ready for it, you always feel pushed for time or that there is more you can do.

“When that week comes, you have to drop all that and perform.

“It always seems like a mountain of stuff to think about but when it comes to racing, it’s quite easy to put that to one side and zone into racing, which is nice.

“That’s my favourite bit, it’s more peaceful. I’m just excited for it, it’s such a small amount of time now.”

Heathcote’s excitement is shared by her friends and family, who booked their tickets to Marseille as soon as she was named in the squad.

“They are coming out for two weeks with all the toys, paddleboards, the works,” she said.

“I probably won’t see them at all, they’ll just be having a two-week holiday – they’ll be doing their own thing, they’ll have no idea what’s going on!

“My immediate family are all going, my boyfriend is staying with them as well so they will all be together.

“A few of my closest friends are going as well, which is great. They are all buzzing.”

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