ANNA BURNET says she has no doubt she’s capable of winning gold at the Paris Olympics this summer.

The Shandon sailor partnered John Gimson to bronze in the Nacra 17 mixed multi-hull class at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Mallorca between March 29 and April 6.

With Anna's mum Louise among those cheering them on, the British duo had to dig deep on the final day of the event in Palma in order to secure a podium place behind two Italian pairs – winners Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, and silver medallists Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei.

There’s little doubt that Tita and Banti are the favourites to win Olympic gold this summer and thus to retain the title they won in Tokyo three years ago, forcing Burnet and Gimson to be content with silver.

The two pairs finished first and second at the World Championships in the Netherlands last summer, with the Italians again coming out on top.

But the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club (RNCYC) member and former Lomond School pupil insists she and Gimson are more than capable of going one better than that when the Olympic sailing classes get under way, not in Paris but in Marseille, from Sunday, July 28.

Speaking to RYA Scotland in Mallorca, the 31-year-old said: “We have the ability, we would love to win a gold medal – and we will do everything we can to try and achieve that

“At the end of the day this is sailing – you can’t control the weather, you can’t control your competitors, there’s a lot that goes on in a week of racing particularly in Marseille.

“It’s a difficult venue, it’s tricky to predict. So, we’ll do our best – but we’ll definitely be going for gold.”

Also in action in Palma was another RNCYC member and former Lomond pupil, Lorenzo Chiavarini, who won gold at the European Laser Championships in 2019.

Chiavarini has been representing Italy for the last two years, and will do so again when he makes his Olympic debut in Marseille in the summer.

The 30-year-old was in Palma competing in the ILCA7 dinghy class, though he had to be content with a 23rd-place finish in a category won for the third year in a row by Britain’s Micky Beckett.

The 30-year-old, who was raised in Argyll and Largs but went to school in Helensburgh, told the RYA Scotland team: “When I was a kid in Largs, going out with the really strong easterly winds and the cold weather – it grew me up. I have really fond memories, had a lot of fun – and it gave me that resilience.

“Hopefully after the Olympics I can get back to the west of Scotland to go and sail in the good currents that we have!”