Jo Aleh is making a return to the competitive world of sailing for a bid at a third Olympic medal, teaming up with Molly Meech in the 49erFX for the Paris Games.
Aleh won Olympic gold in 2012 and followed that up with a silver in Rio four years later while racing with Polly Powrie in the women's 470 but has spent the majority of the last five years coaching instead.
In fact, the 35-year-old rediscovered her competitive fire while coaching Nacra 17 combination Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson who went on to finish 12th at the Tokyo Games with Aleh's aid.
"I was watching last year's nationals, coaching Micah and Erica at the time, and I was watching thinking, 'I'm sure I could do that'," Aleh said.
"I then did the 470 nationals and it just came back. It was like I had never been away. I thought, ‘I can do that, I’ve got that in my pocket’, but the appeal of a new class and having to learn everything from scratch is really what drives me."
That appeal led Aleh to Meech and the 49erFX class.
"Luckily enough for me, Molly was floating around and is brave enough to come sailing with me.
"To have someone who’s been there, done that, it's going to save us a lot of time, for sure.
"I have a huge amount of respect for her - I think she’s an amazing sailor - and to have a chance to sail with her in this campaign makes it possible."
Meech, along with longtime 49erFX teammate Alex Maloney, announced last December she was moving on to the "next chapter" of her life after a tough campaign in Tokyo but the chance to partner with someone she looked up to as a young sailor has brought her back to the water.
"I decided that I wasn’t quite done with sailing and also wanted to continue with the 49erFX and see what more I could achieve," Meech said.
"Jo and I have a lot of work to do but we are pretty excited about what we are trying to do and where we want to go."
The path to Paris won't be smooth sailing though with the pair only having two-and-a-half years to cement their partnership and become a world-class outfit.
Aleh said they'll draw on all their past experiences as world champions and Olympic medallists in their respective classes to steady the ship.
"I know there are a number of hours you need to do in the boat for it to feel comfortable and natural so I’m definitely not putting too much pressure on the next year but we are both pretty competitive people and we are going to want to do well so I think it’s just something we are going to keep track of and make sure we don’t expect too much too early," Aleh said.
"As long as we are showing some promise, and progression, then I think we will be happy.
"We have a short run at [the Olympics] but we think it’s enough time. We don’t need to be beating everyone next year. It’s only two-and-a-half years but it’s enough time, we think. It’s just about hitting the top at the right time."
The first assignment will be next weekend's 49er and 49erFX national championships followed a week later by the Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta at the Wakatere Boating Club.
The pair will then continue training in New Zealand before relocating to Europe in April for a large part of the northern summer.
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