MOUNTBATTEN School old boy Chris Draper and his sailing partner Simon Hiscocks left the opposition floundering in their wake when they won the 49-er dinghy class at the World Championships in Cadiz last week.

Chris and Simon were so far ahead of the field they didn't even need to sail in the last two races of the six-day, 16-race series. The victory means the pair will represent GB at next year's Athens Olympics.

Chris just missed selection for the 2000 Olympics when he was sailing in the 470 class. He then switched to the 49-er class, which he says better suits his style of sailing.

"It's fast and its difficult to keep your balance. It's a bit like driving a rallying car," said helmsman Chris, 25.

The pairing have enjoyed tremendous success this year, winning gold or silver at all the major regattas but Chris said they were 'shocked' at how easily they took the world title.

The result makes them favourite for Olympic gold, but that's not worrying Chris.

"If we feel prepared we don't feel the pressure," he said.

Previously from West Wellow, Chris attended the Mountbatten School and Barton Peveril College before studying Sports Science at Portsmouth University. He now lives in Weymouth, the centre of 49-er sailing in the UK.

He started sailing when he was seven, and at the age of 12 he represented the UK at a World Championships in an Optimist dinghy. Since then he has been National Youth Champion in every class he has sailed - Optimist, 420, 470 and 49er.

He teamed up with Simon Hiscocks in the 49er last year, and they quickly stamped their mark on the international scene. Simon went to Sydney, crewing with Ian Barker in a 49er, and they won the silver medal, adding to the excellent British toll of medals in the sailing.

Chris comes from a successful sailing family. His father Lawrie, sailing with his sister Ellie, came 9th in the Dart catamaran World Championships at Stokes Bay near Gosport during August.