Thompson not ruling out Tokyo bid after Rio 2016 frustration

Nick Thompson in the Laser medal race at the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition © Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Nick Thompson admitted Olympic success is something that "still burns inside me" but won't rush into making any decisions on if he now turns his attention to Tokyo after finishing his Rio 2016 Laser quest in sixth on Tuesday.

Thompson went into Tuesday's double medal points Medal Race still with an outside shot of claiming a podium spot, but after crossing the line in eighth he maintained the final overall position that he held at the start of the day.

Rio was the 30-year-old's first Olympics, having narrowly missed out on London 2012 selection to Beijing 2008 Laser champion, Paul Goodison, but he admits he didn't meet his own expectations on his Games debut.

Thompson said: "It's tough to sum these Games up. I came here with bigger expectations, I was certainly looking to medal and trying to fight it out for the win but I never really got into the regatta.

"There's no one reason I didn't settle into the regatta, I just wasn't on fire. Coming into this event I always knew that if I was going to have a chance of winning I was going to have to be 100% and I just never got into that rhythm.

"The nature of our class is that the person who turns up and is on fire that week is going to come out on top. We had good battles all the way through and I'm still proud of how I sailed, but I'm just a bit disappointed at the moment.

"Who knows if I will campaign for Tokyo. It's a long cycle but it's still something that burns inside me so we'll see.

"The Olympics is amazing, it's everything everyone always said it was going to be, it's the greatest show on earth. Just being here representing my country is an incredibly proud moment, it's something I've always wanted to do and it means a lot to me."

The gold medal went to Australia's Tom Burton after he produced a tactical masterclass to deny eventual silver medallist, Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) victory, the Croatian having led the regatta for much of the week. New Zealand's Sam Meech wrapped up the bronze medal. The race was won by Robert Scheidt (BRA).

Reflecting on the final race, Thompson added: "Today was always going to be a big ask. I started pretty well and was pretty happy but happened to be on the wrong side of the beat when the big shift came and that put me out of the race. I kept battling away but never really got back into it.

"Tom Burton's a fantastic sailor. If you look back through the four-year cycle he's been one of the guys who has been consistently winning medals and winning events so all credit to him. He's a fantastic guy, a fantastic sailor, as all the other guys are in the fleet. He really did deliver today so I'm pleased for him."

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