I'll continue British sailing success, says Robinson

Robinson succeeds Stephen Park in the role after a hugely successful 15 years at the helm that saw Britain's sailors bring home 23 Olympic and Paralympic medals.

Robinson has been brought in from Australian Sailing and will be in charge of Team GB's sailors during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where they will look to emulate their heroics in Rio last year, when they finished top of the medals table.

Topping the table is something familiar to the 42-year-old, having done so with Australia at last year's Paralympics, while he has previously worked in Singapore and Thailand.

Robinson has a wealth of sailing experience at both national and international level, including the Olympic classes, and will be supported by the RYA's new director of racing, two-time Olympic silver-medallist Ian Walker.

"I feel immensely privileged to be given the opportunity to lead such a successful team into Tokyo 2020 and beyond," said Robinson.

"Sparky has set a very high standard to follow but I will grab that baton with both hands and push forward with what is an extremely talented group of athletes, coaches and support staff.

"My role is to support our athletes and coaches, our frontline troops in the quest for gold medals, to achieve their ambitions and those of Great Britain.

"To that end, it is great to see so many of our World Class Olympians returning and this provides a sound platform for us to push forwards towards dominating the podium in Tokyo.

"I'd like to thank the RYA, UK Sport and BOA for their confidence in appointing me and look forward to hitting the ground running with this exceptional team in June."

Sportsbeat 2017