Sailor Tom Slingsby went into the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the world's No.1, thinking he was unbeatable.

It was an attitude that ultimately led to his downfall.

Now, with Australia's preparation for the London Olympic Games starting to heat up, Slingsby guarantees he won't be thinking along similar lines if he's lucky enough to hit the sailing course in Weymouth.

Even though he's coming off one of the most years of his sailing career.

"In Beijing, obviously, I went in undefeated for quite a while, and yeah, I came away with 22nd," he told AAP on Friday.

"I thought I was sort of unbeatable. But I now know how easily things can change.

"So I'm not going to be going in with the same mentality, that's for sure."

The 26-year-old from Gosford capped a brilliant 2010 by being crowned World Sailor of the Year in November - the first Australian to enjoy the honour.

That was just a few months after he won the Laser world title - his third in four years.

The pressure is already mounting again, but Slingsby learned how to cope.

"Well, a lot of people believe that it will, but I know every year won't be the same as the last.

"I know I won't - 98 per cent, 99 per cent - win the World Sailor again this year, so I'm just going to go and do what I do.

"If I get some good results, great, but this year mainly for me is getting Olympic selection and beating the other Australians."

He took the first step of his London journey on Friday as one of the first athletes to be processed - injury details given and measurements taken - should they make the Olympic team.

Slingsby is rightly confident of making the squad, needing either a World Cup victory or a top-six finish at the world championships.

In December, he finished third in the first World Cup contest of the season in Melbourne and felt he's trained enough to skip the next - a regatta in Miami.

But he aims to hit the European circuit hard, starting next month in Spain.

Slingsby says he'd be happy not to be rated the gold medal favourite when the London Games roll around.

That tag should go to Paul Goodison, who calls Weymouth home - even though Slingsby also has a good record there, having won two events from two, including against the Brit.

Despite the pain of Beijing, Slingsby has lost none of his confidence.

"If someone a day before the event offered me a silver medal, would I take it? I would say no way," he said.

"I'm sure that'll be my same mentality going into London - that won't change. I don't like coming second."

Crystal Ja
AAP