KEY POINTS:
A world title does not have Tom Ashley thinking an Olympic gold in Beijing will automatically follow.
The 23-year-old was delighted by his victory at the RS-X World Championships in Takapuna yesterday, but was not fooling himself into thinking other titles are now his for the taking.
"I don't think it is an indication of what will happen at the Olympics. It's great to win and I'll enjoy that, celebrate with a few drinks and take some time to enjoy it."
He'll have a little bit of down time over the next few weeks, but then it will be building for the Olympics.
The Devonport-based sailor, by his own admission, failed to do himself justice in Athens 2004 and he's determined to make amends four years on.
His victory goes a long way towards arming him with the right mental tools. He was particularly pleased with his fourth in the final race - which was still good enough to give him the gold medal.
He started the day four points ahead of Israel's Shahar Zubari after a difficult Friday where at one stage in the only race of the day he was as far back as 21st. A strong last leg pulled him back to 10th but cut his overall lead from nine points.
It made for a sleepless night but if he was nervous coming into the medal race he didn't let it show. He knew that if he kept ahead of the only men who could realistically catch him - Zubari, Joao Rodrigues of Portugal and Spain's Ivan Pastor Lufuente, the gold medal would be his.
"My tactics were pretty simple - I just kept an eye on the guys who were close to me.
"It's what I have done for the last four days and I knew I didn't have to worry about anyone else.
"It was really pleasing to have won like that because I have lost a world championship in the past that way."
There is no doubt Ashley has the ability to succeed in Beijing. He's in great physical shape and has been buoyed by the knowledge that he can win pressure events.
The key is whether he can now absorb all he can from his world championship gold medal and rebuild to another peak in August.
He says he won't head to Beijing until about a week before he competes, which gives him six clear months to prepare for the Olympics.
"About 60 to 70 per cent of my training is done away from the water," he said. "I do a lot of running and a lot of cycling. I'm really in good shape but I'll need to refocus my training."
