She might be almost 10,000 kilometres from Dorset but sailor Emma Wilson feels right at home on the waters of Sagami Bay.
The 22-year-old Olympian won the first race on day two of the RS:X regatta and backed that up with a fourth and a second to take the overall lead at the halfway stage.
Wilson, who was born in Nottingham, is bidding to become Team GB’s first female windsurfing medallist since 2008 and admits it could hardly be going better at Tokyo 2020.
“It was a lot more fun. It was a bit more what we're used to in England but also I prepared for everything. It was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot,” said Wilson, whose race was broadcast live on Eurosport and Discovery+ .
“The start was really important. I have some pretty good starts so that obviously helped me and then just kept going fast around inflatable marks.
“I'm happy. My first Olympics and I'm doing well so I can't ask for more really.”
Wilson is back in action on Wednesday, which is just as well with a typhoon drifting towards Tokyo on Tuesday.
But she’s proven fearless at her first Olympics, demonstrated by her rapid start to the day.
She raced out of the blocks on a blustery Tokyo morning and took the lead after the first mark and then held it for the final three quarters of the race to cross the line first by 12 seconds.
In the second race, she was 55 seconds off the lead but came home a strong fourth before finishing 10 seconds back from China’s Yunxiu Lu in the third.
“It was a pretty big shift, the wind, from the land so that was always going to be tricky,” she added.
“I had good starts and just tried to do what I could do best and trust myself so that was good.
“It is quite cool out here. I like watching the surfing so I try and find my inner surfer. I'm not very good at surfing though! I just keep doing simple things well and I'll be happy.”
Stream every unmissable moment of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 live on discovery+ , the Streaming Home of the Olympics.
