Hayling Island sailor James Peters is hoping some drastic last minute changes can inject a new lease of life into his Olympic sailing campaign.

Peters and 49er partner Fynn Sterritt, already selected by Team GB for Paris 2024, finished in 10th place at the World Championships in Lanzarote earlier this year.

Disappointed in their performance, the duo have since switched up their camp with the aim of bringing a new energy to their long-standing partnership in the run-up to their maiden Games as a team.

They are now set to put their changes into practice at the 49er European Championships in La Grande Motte, France, which run from May 7-12.

"We've changed things up a little bit since worlds," he said.

"We realised we needed to be a bit heavier to match the other sailors because without fully realising it, we had ended up definitely on the lighter end of the fleet.

"So we've both spent the last month putting on weight and are now a lot heavier.

"We've also just got our boat that we're going to be using at the Games so we're putting that on the water and testing for the first time.

"And we've had a little bit of a change in terms of our coaching, so a lot has gone on.

"Everything has been around trying to inject a bit of fresh energy into our Olympic campaign and partnership.

"We've been together many years so we want to bring some a new energy and positive feel into it."

Peters and Sterritt parted ways with long-time coach Ben Rhodes in March and have now joined forces with Tokyo 2020 Olympian Stuart Bithell in the lead-up to the Games.

But it will be assistant coach Jack Hawkins who navigates them through the European event in France.

A coaching change this close to the pinnacle of racing is a risky move for an athlete but Peters feels the move will offer a new perspective at a crucial time.

"Ben was doing an awesome job with us and he's a brilliant coach," Peters said.

"It wasn't a case that he wasn't enough for us it was just that sometimes you've been in the same team for so long, it's quite good to get fresh new ideas."

Peters won European bronze alongside Sterritt in 2022 and had seen a strong set of results in the lead-up to the Olympic year until a below-par display at the worlds.

Now, the duo are ready to debut their new team at the continental event and rekindle their confidence and love of the sport once more ahead of Paris 2024.

"This is the last major regatta before the Games for us, but actually, we're not focusing on the result," he said.

"Worlds felt awful and we weren't enjoying it. It just felt as a team, we weren't there.

"The result was almost partly because some of the elements weren't there, but it was also partly because we actually just weren't enjoying it.

"Coming here, it's about remembering why we're doing this and the fact that we love the sport."

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