Video: Alison Young tipped for Rio medal

Young, 28, placed fifth at London 2012 in the in the Laser Radial class, but has come on leaps and bounds since then and is ranked second in the world in 2015.

Having qualified in July for next summer's Games with a fourth-place World Cup finish in Weymouth, Young ended up eighth at the test event last month.

But she will, however, have gained invaluable experience of racing in Rio's tricky waters.

Her biggest challenge for gold in Rio is world No 1 Evi Van Acker from Belgium, who pipped Young to bronze at London 2012.

But, with one Olympic Games under her belt already, Ayton is confident that Young will have learned some valuable lessons.

Ayton, who is now competing in the Extreme Sailing Series, said: "It was wonderful to see Alison Young in Weymouth qualify for the Games and then to deliver such a fantastic result was awesome.

"She is one of our fittest athletes, and when I look at the conditions in Rio, they could really suit her well. The sailing events are over a long duration, so it's one for the fittest and the strongest.

"She's into her second Olympic Games, so she knows what it's all about.

"She knows that all she needs to do is go out there and do what she always does, and hopefully that will get her onto the podium."

Ayton was speaking to some of GB's finest young sailors at Land Rover BAR headquarters in Portsmouth.

That's where Ben Ainslie and his all-British team are bidding to bring the America's Cup back to our waters for the first time since 1851.

She knows exactly what it takes to claim Olympic gold, having topped the podium in the Yngling class at both Beijing and Athens.

It was a slightly underwhelming campaign at London 2012, which yielded just one gold medal for Olympic hero Ainslie alongside four silvers for GB's sailors.

But Ayton is confident the class of 2015 are well placed to improve on that haul.

She added: "We have some really good talent going forward to Rio. We've got Giles Scott, undefeated really in the last two years, won the test event and he's on track to win gold.

"I think the depth of the team is there; it's strong and the aim will be eight medals of any colour.

"Rio is going to be a tricky venue. You can get big swell out in the bay or choppy shifty conditions, so it's one of those events where anything could happen.

"The attention to detail is there with Team GB, so I know that the team will be doing everything they can to provide the sailors with the best chance. Hopefully, they'll bring home a few gold medals."

Sarah Ayton, Ambassador of the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport, mentored a range of rising star athletes as they visited the home of Land Rover BAR for a unique day's experience and behind the scenes tour.

For more information, please visit sportsaid.org.uk.