AFTER winning gold medals in the Athens and Bejing Olympic games, Sarah Dempsey, of Wyke Regis, yesterday announced her bid for a third gold win on home waters.

With the 2012 Olympics just over two years away, Sarah will be teaming up with Saskia Clark in the 470 class to sail in the Games in Weymouth and Portland.

Sarah and her husband Nick, who is the current World Champion in the RS:X windsurf class after victory in front of his home crowd in Weymouth in September last year, celebrated the birth of their first child, Thomas, last year.

Sarah said that she had not rushed her decision to compete in 2012, taking her time to pick the right boat and crew.

She said: “After thinking really hard about my campaign and experimenting with match racing, it was an easy decision in the end to choose the 470.

“Teaming up with Saskia seemed the most natural route and we are already building up a strong understanding and can’t wait to get started on our campaign. The next event is Hyeres iin France, where the conditions are going to really test us but this first year is about building up the relationship and proving ourselves as a team.”

Sarah, who was made an OBE in the 2009 New Years Honours list, was part of the famous 'three blondes in a boat' team who won the gold medal in the Yngling class at Athens 2004.

She then moved from bow to helm for a second victory in the Yngling class in Beijing 2008.

For 2012 Sarah will be sailing in the smaller 470 class. The 470 dinghy’s take their name from the fact they are 4.70 metres long.

Saskia Clarke, who finished sixth in the 470 class at the Bejing games and is Sarah’s 2012 Olympic partner, said: “The new partnership in the 470 class is really interesting as with Sarah being a double gold medallist I can learn a lot from her experience.

"I have a lot of competitive experience in the 470, so as a team I think we complement each other really well.”

The two now hope to be able to concentrate on their training to win gold in two years time.

The team will be backed by Team Volvo for Life and by Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team for the Olympics.

The team, along with other athletes from Team Volvo for Life, will be inviting people to get involved with their Olympic campaign via Facebook. They will be posting videos of their training and talking to supporters with live monthly web chats.

To join the group visit, www.facebook.com/volvocarssailing