Coming 4th in Athens gave the Olympic Laser champion the impetus to succeed in 2008
Olympic profile: Paul Goodison part two
Early ambitions – “I wanted to be a footballer as a child. I was mad keen on the game. But I had a knee cartilage problem when I was 11 years old that stopped me from going any further”
Best/worst quality – “I’m very persistent and won’t stop until I’ve achieved what I set out to do. That’s a part of my worst attribute as I have to finish what I’ve started. I can’t sit still or relax until I’ve achieved it”
How do you relax? – “I’ve taken up golf recently, which does seem to help me relax. The trouble is that I’m finding it hard as one minute you look like a genius, the next you look like an idiot for no apparent reason”
What picks you up when you’re down? – “Going cycling is probably the first thing, playing some music and then analysing what went wrong. I can’t rest until I know what the problem was”
Non sailing ambition – “To ride a tube on a surfboard”
What’s your plan ‘B’? – “I try not to have one as I don’t want to waste any energy thinking about something that I’m not really committed to. Having said that, after Athens I did consider joining the Royal Air Force”
Pet hate – People saying, ‘If only I’d done that I’d have been OK’ – Face it, you didn’t
Sporting hero – Steve Peat, downhill mountain bike racer
Class sailed
Men’s Laser
Turning point
“I remember when Ben Ainslie came back from the Olympics in Atlanta and came down to the Laser nationals. I’d seen the racing on TV, I knew him and had raced against him. Suddenly it struck me what winning an Olympic medal might mean. I decided then and there to have a go”
Secret to success
“The strict one-design nature of the Laser means that the racing at Olympic level is very close indeed. It’s easy to get buried after a small mistake. This, in turn, can often mean that success is more about keeping your head in the right place when things go wrong”
Coach – Chris Gowers
Training partner – Nick Thompson
Cost of Laser – £4,500
No of sails per season – 7
First major success – 6th, Laser World Championships 2000 Cancun, Mexico
Olympic track record
Gold 2008 Laser, Qingdao, China
Favourite sailing venue – Asian Pacific Laser Championships Airlie Beach Australia
Dream boat – Big Wally
Other interests – Cycling and kite surfing
Personal favourites
Film – Point Break
Band – The Killers
Book – It’s Not About the Bike, Lance Armstrong
Non-sailing item – Cervelo road bike
Current car – Volvo V60 Dream car – Ferrari 458
iPhone app – Fit builder
iPod top 3 most played
End Credits – Chase and Status
Islands – The XX
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire