Those damned Olympic Gods, from Apollo to Zeus, Alison Young will be praying to them hard for some luck in 2020.
Because it’s fair to say Young’s Olympic experiences have not been plain sailing.
She finished just outside the medals at London 2012 but arrived in Rio as world champion, the first British woman sailor to achieve that in a solo Olympic dinghy class.
However, a broken ankle – just eight weeks before Rio conspired against her hopes, her eighth place finish under the outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer remaining a nagging source of regret.
Tokyo could go either two ways – pray to Mount Olympus it is third time lucky.
“No one competes at the Olympics without a bit of adversity but I think I had my fair share,” said Young, 32, one of the first names confirmed on the team for Tokyo.
“Four weeks out from the Games I couldn’t walk, making the start line was an amazing achievement but by the time it got to the Games I was mentally fried.”
“I was disappointed and felt I underperformed. The team had done a fantastic job managing the injury and getting me back in shape.”
“Each cycle throws up different challenges and you learn from those and use them to push you forward.”
Born and raised in landlocked Worcestershire, she was introduced to the sport when her father bought lessons at Trimpley Sailing Club for her ninth birthday and it quickly became an obsession.
“The mental side is my biggest weakness, once I get a handle on that I’ll be able to find some strengths,” she said.
“You can mitigate to reduce the risk but you have to be able to respond to injuries or illness or other challenges that you may face along the campaign. My parents brought me up to crack on with what you’re doing even if stuff is not perfect.”
Resilience and redemption – hopefully the cocktail of success for Young in Tokyo 2020.
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