TOM Squires is aiming to peak at the right time as he ends a long wait for his first Olympics.

The Kingston Bagpuize windsurfer begins his first race in the RS:X class at 4.05am BST tomorrow, almost 22 months after he was selected for the Games.

Squires saw his Olympic debut delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and has had to deal with training and travel restrictions since.

It has not been totally smooth since the 27-year-old arrived in Japan either.

“I probably had the worst day of training of my life this week,” Squires revealed.

“Every single day has been my worst conditions – it’s a light breeze I really struggle with.

“I’d like to have had one good day, but you know what you need to focus on.

“The wind on day one will change direction and be completely different to what we’ve trained in.

“As soon as that wind turns, I’ll be telling myself ‘this is my time to shine – don’t waste this moment’.”

Squires will compete in 11 races spread out across Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, with the medal race on Saturday.

The events take place in Enoshima, around an hour south of Tokyo, where he was fourth in an Olympic test event two years ago.

Squires has competed there four times before, but knows this will feel different.

He said: “It’ll probably be fairly nerve-wracking on the start line for race one.

“Everything’s amplified and there’s so much more noise.

“My coach has coached at four Games and the experience in the British Sailing team is huge.

“You’re pretty much always sat next to a medallist.

“That calms you down and a lot of them say they wished they enjoyed it more when they were an athlete.

“This always plays on my mind.”

Team GB’s sailors are a close-knit group and had a mini-opening ceremony yesterday, as their events are too near to attend the real thing.

Squires will go to the closing ceremony on August 8, though, at a Games that is like no other.

Daily Covid tests make it tough to forget about the virus and the Oxford-born athlete admits to being wary of coming into contact with too many people.

He said: “There’s always an underlying part of me thinking that.

“If you’re in close contact with someone your Games isn’t over as you can still race.

“But it severely impacts and takes you away from the rest of the group – it’s going to ruin your Games.

“It’s always playing in the back of the mind.

“We have Covid tests every morning so if you’re coming into contact with someone new, you’ve got to be careful.

“A part of me feels it’s a shame that it’s different, but the much bigger feeling is the accomplishment of being here.”