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Bryony Shaw believes that her success at the Beijing Olympics last year will work to her advantage when she takes to the water for the European Championships in Tel Aviv.

The 26-year-old, who became the first British woman to win an Olympic windsurfing medal in Beijing, is looking to build on her silver medal at the last European Championships and has been re-visiting her notes on tidal sailing with her coach Dom Tidey.

"I've never sailed here before and we've discovered quite a bit of current in the waters, so Dom's been back to studying all our China notes on tidal sailing and course skews in preparations," Shaw said.

"We felt pretty comfortable and on top of all the tidal stuff in China where it was such a factor, so I'm confident as we know we can perform in those sorts of conditions.

"It's very, very hot out here as well - 30-32 degrees, so all the stuff we did for China in terms of hydrations, keeping cool, all those routines are going to pay off as well here. The only difference on that front is that it's not hazy here - there's blazing sunshine.

"The fleet is pretty strong at this event. Although many of the girls who competed at the Olympics have either retired or are taking a break, there are quite a few younger girls coming up through the ranks.

"There are two good Italians, Flavia Tartaglini and Laura Linares, plus the Spanish, French and Polish girls, so it should be a challenging regatta."

Shaw is also targeting a world title on home waters in Weymouth in September.

"The RS:X Worlds in Weymouth is the definite focus for me for this year, but the Europeans is important as a benchmark to see how all the training is paying off so far, so we have been working hard towards this event," Shaw said.

"Also, the venue here is very different to Weymouth, so in terms of improving my skills when it's wavy and choppy, it's good to have the full range."

The medal races for the RS:X European Championships take place at the Hapoel Tel Aviv Yacht Club on Sunday.

Eurosport