Ben Ainslie is hoping to be part of a perfect start for Britain's sailors in the Olympic sailing regatta when his quest for a third gold medal begins tomorrow.

The 31-year-old, who topped the podium in Sydney and Athens, is favourite to win the Finn class, one of the two sailing events to get under way in Qingdao on the opening day of the Games.

The other is the Yngling class races where expectations are also high for the crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson.

Ainslie said: "It would be good if we could do well in both of those classes and help the morale of the rest of the team.

"I think we've got the best team on paper that we've ever had. I think it's possible to repeat the five-medal haul of Athens but we know how challenging the conditions are out here and we will all have to sail to our potential to make that happen."

Both the Finn and Yngling have two races tomorrow and continue all next week until the finals next Saturday.