Boardsailing: A taste of the real life

Tom Ashley is back training after a year away from boardsailing. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Olympic windsurfing champion Tom Ashley learned a lot last year. The fact he received five A-pluses and three As for his first year law course at Auckland University confirms that.

But Ashley learned an even more salutary lesson.

"It was really awesome and I loved being at university," he says, "but it was really busy.

"It definitely gave me a new appreciation for the life of an athlete because real life is way harder than being an athlete.

"[Getting back on the windsurfer] has felt different after a break but, if anything, it has been easier than what I have been doing because ... that was much more difficult than the life of a professional athlete.

"Now all I have to do is train."

The fact he is back on his board means Ashley's campaign for a second Olympic gold medal is under way.

The 25-year-old took 12 months off from the sport immediately after Beijing to recharge.

He was sick of racing and training and needed a break. University and working as a part-time coach and mentor for Yachting New Zealand provided the ideal opportunity.

Apart from racing in last year's Sail Auckland and national championships - something he did for "a laugh" and because it was expected of him - he didn't touch his board.

Next weekend Ashley will race competitively for the first time when he lines up in Sail Auckland.

A strong field will assemble, including three of the top-five placegetters at last year's world championships, but Ashley isn't expecting miracles straight away.

"I prefer to only count the results I really work for," he says before heading out for another training session off Takapuna beach.

"If I win one of these regattas [the national championships are later in February], it will probably be more luck than good management. They are not peak events for me and I will train through them."

That's the thing with Ashley, he knows exactly what works for him. He is a fastidious planner and disciplined trainer and doesn't dare mess with a programme that worked for him in Beijing.

Back then, it was a three-year plan and it's the same this time as he prepares for London.

That will mean a programme light on racing, with only three top-level regattas in the diary for 2010.

After the nationals, he will race in Palma in March before an Olympic test event in England in August and the world championships in Denmark later that month.

"I never race that much anyway," says Ashley, who doesn't look like he put an ounce of fat on to his lean frame during his layoff.

"In Olympic year, I did only three as well. It's good not to do too much racing this year so I can focus on training.

"It felt hard [getting back on the board]. It's not going badly. It's just a matter of re-learning all the stuff I had forgotten in a year. That's OK.

"It's probably easier starting again after a year off than if I had carried on because if I had done that, I would have felt a bit of pressure to stay the best in the world. Now I am building up to an event.

"I don't have any specific goals this year, at least that I will make public. I will train as hard as I can and see how far I can go after a year off.

"I am sure it's just a matter of time before I am very competitive again but I'm not sure if it will happen this year."

Knowing Ashley, it will happen sooner rather than later. He has proven himself in the past to be a quick learner.