Sam Sills: How Team GB windsurfer slept in van to try to qualify for Paris Olympics

It certainly did pay off. Sills came seventh in the World Championships in 2020 and went on to qualify for Great Britain.

He was able to secure lottery funding in 2021, allowing him to move out of the van and take advantage of British Sailing’s coaching and support network.

But even then it still took time for Sills to truly believe he could achieve his Olympic dream.

“I didn’t believe I would go to the Olympics probably until 2023 in February where I started winning events internationally, and my other British competitors were placed in the thirties,” he said.

“I was like ‘Right, I can do this, I really can’, and that was when the penny dropped and I really believed it was going to happen.”

He was selected for the Olympics last year, allowing him time to train and focus on winning a medal.

The sailing events will take place in the Mediterranean city of Marseille and Sills has a chance of a medal having consistently finished in the top 10 at world and European championships.

“I think it’ll be amazing,” he says of the Olympics.

“People tell you about it – ‘it’s the biggest thing you’ll ever do’ – and it’s just nuts what’s going on around you off the water.

“But on the water you’ve still got the same wind, still got the same waters, still got the same equipment – that’s all the same.

“There’s going to be lots of spectators, lots going on and a lot of noise to deal with, with the Olympics, with the media, with everything that’s going on.

“So I’m expecting it to be a lot to deal with, but we’ll just try and keep it simple and enjoy it.”