"It's largely thanks to support of those that play The National Lottery that athletes like myself have had the best possible chances at winning Olympic medals for Great Britain."

On the waters off Qingdao in Southern China in 2008, Ainslie became Britain's greatest Olympic sailor.

His victory in the Finn class made it three successive gold medals and along with the silver he won in 1996 in Atlanta, he overtook Rodney Pattison as Britain's most successful Games' yachtsman.

Sailing was always in his blood. His father Roderick skippered a boat that, in 1973, competed in the first Whitbread Round The World Race and by the age of 11 Ben was among the honours when he won the under-12s Optimist Open and National Championships.

By 1995 he had won gold at the World Youth Championships, having first tasted life in a boat with his parents when he was only three. Now he is the skipper of Team Origin, the British boat which will make a challenge for the America's Cup this year.

In December, he returned to Finn sailing for the first time since Beijing when he took part in a British training camp at Weymouth, buzzing with excitement because the London Olympics is such a big focus for him.