Zander Kirkland is aiming to go solo in the Olympics, entering the one-man Laser class, and is following the same principle with his training for the Athens showpiece.

He has taken a leave of absence from Tufts University to pursue his dream, re-locating to a small, remote island near Marseille in France for his training.

Having to cope without even a telephone, the 21-year-old is using the French mistral winds, incredibly strong air currents that blow off the mainland to the south of France, as an intense training environment.

The French coast will be Kirkland?s training base for the next couple of weeks, at which point he will start competing in a series of regattas, starting with the Barcelona Olympic Sailing week, leading up to the World Championships in Turkey, where he will have the chance to determine his Olympic fate.

?All the top guys are fully-sponsored and all the time,? said Kirkland, who races in the two-man Jumbos for his university team.

?I realised the only way I had a shot at qualifying was to take a full-time approach to it.

?This winter I have been trying to work on my physical fitness and I hope all this training will pay off and that I will be peaking by the time the Worlds come around in May.?

The isolation of his French island is in stark contrast to his time at the sporting university ? but he seems convinced he is making the right decision long-term.

?All I do these days is eat, sleep, sail, and read,? Kirkland said.

?It?s great to be on the water all the time, but it is not as much fun as Tufts. I do miss school a lot. But sometimes you just have to suck it up and not look for immediate rewards, but rather look forward to the future.

And Tufts sailing coach Ken Legler is missing Kirkland?s skills, on and off the water.

?The fact that he brings with him the skill set from international sailing is great,? Legler said. ?He?s an enormous asset. He?s got a great sense of humour and he also doesn?t mind dealing with adversity. People love having him as a team-mate and everyone misses him right now.

?He?s really good for team spirit as well as team performance.?