Knife-edge decisions, adrenalin rushes, extreme weather, bitter rivalries, heart-stopping races – they are all in a day’s work for Ben Ainslie. Against all odds, in the London 2012 Olympics Ben Ainslie thrillingly won a fourth successive gold medal, making him the greatest ever Olympic sailor and a British hero, chosen from many to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremony. From his proudest moment representing Team GB, to one tough decision that almost risked destroying his career, this is a unique insight into the man who cannot let himself be second best. It shows what really takes place in the white heat of competition and lifts the lid on this toughest of sports. REVISED AND UPDATED FOR PAPERBACK TO INCLUDE LONDON 2012.

The world's greatest racing sailor - three-times Olympic champion (most recently in Beijing in 2008) Ben Ainslie - tells his story. Having a sailing career since he was eight, Ben Ainslie, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, has won eight World and European Championships, been crowned ISAF World Sailor of the Year twice, and won British Yachtsman of the Year four times. Ben Ainslie's career in sailing began at the age of eight with his family in Cornwall. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a way of life, and by the age of sixteen he was already Laser Radial World Champion. At just nineteen years old he won his first Olympic medal - silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games. Four years later, he achieved every athlete's dream of Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympics.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Great Britain ranked thirty-sixth in the medals table, finishing below countries like Algeria, Belgium and Kazakhstan. It was their worst ever record, a dismal performance labelled a national disgrace. But then something happened. In Sydney in 2000 and then Athens in 2004, Team GB achieved a much more respectable tenth place. By 2016, in Rio, they finished second, above China and Russia, with sixty-seven medals. How have they so convincingly reversed their fortunes? In Game Changers we meet the coaches and sports scientists who rethink how sport is analysed and understood, how athletes train and perform under pressure. In Liverpool in the 1980s, a motley group - a mathematician, a physiologist, a psychologist and a former Olympic basketball player - began to pioneer new ways of tracking performance. Over the decades that followed, performance analysis came of age, becoming an essential component of any elite team, from English Premier League title winners Manchester City to America's Cup high-performance sailing teams. Using a hybrid of scientific method and trial-and-error, scientists have uncovered the tenets of accelerated learning, the mechanics of physiological adaptation, the organisational principles behind elite teams, the understanding of how hormones and environment affect performance. These discoveries are not confined to athletic endeavours - they are universal and reveal what it takes to win not only in sports, but are applicable across a wide range of disciplines, including business, leadership and education.

Here are the secrets that won Sir Ben Ainslie his first gold medal. Brimming with photos, this is a colourful and detailed account of how to dominate the world's hottest class.

The only sailing manual you will ever need, covering everything from sailing basics to making repairs and mastering navigation. The undisputed market leader in sailing guides, this fully revised and updated sailing manual, with a foreword by quadruple Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie, answers questions about any sailing situation, with thorough coverage of all aspects of sailing and boat ownership. In DK's The Complete Sailing Manual, former British national champion Steve Sleight offers a wealth of expert advice and guidance in the form of a complete course on seamanship, which is brought to life with breathtaking action photography and clear instructions. Fully revised, this new edition features all of the latest developments in sailing--including foiling, long-distance cruising, and high-speed apparent-wind sailing--and navigation, with technology such as modern performance systems and electronic navigation. It also highlights the latest rules, regulations, and best practices necessary for every avid sailor, from the novice to the seasoned seaperson. Includes essential information, handy diagrams, and step-by-step illustrations, The Complete Sailing Manual is the ultimate sailing ebook to keep by your side when you're out on the waves.

What does it really take to make the podium? Which of the biological, environmental and psychological factors really shape a champion's route to the top? To answer these questions, Ben Oakley has taken the original step of combining existing research with a study of leading athletes' autobiographies. Looking at the early histories and initial challenges of serial champions in their own words, Podium sheds new light on their commonalities. A similar focus in training, similar influences around them and, above all, similar mental attributes are revealed – and tales of individual brilliance are given a fresh twist. From Ian Thorpe, Usain Bolt and Chrissie Wellington to Victoria Pendleton, Lionel Messi and Roger Federer, all we see is a smooth progression to glory, but each is a rocky path punctuated by critical episodes, and it is the response to these events that can transform talented people into winners. Podium is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the big names at the peak of their respective sports, and essential for coaches or parents of the next budding star. This enthralling read will enrich your interpretation of champions' lives and provide a map of the complex paths through sport to the podium.

The fascinating autobiography from Asia's first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist. Learning to sail and becoming a full-time athlete at just 10 years old, Lijia Xu was taken away from her parents and enrolled on the gruelling Chinese training regime, a programme meticulously prescribed across all sporting disciplines to catapult the nation's talented youngsters to international champions. A rare insight into a shocking world of relentless physical training and unquestioning mental compliance, Lijia's honest and heart-felt account takes you on her journey from physical disabilities and debilitating injuries to learning to think for herself, eventually going on to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medallist. This is an inspirational story of a young woman's will to succeed despite all that her background threw at her.