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Pimentel sets his sights on Tokyo Games

Rear end: Pimentel, left, battles it out with fellow wild card Manuel Lelo of Angola during race nine in Guanabara Bay

Cameron Pimentel is leaning towards committing to the next Olympic cycle in a bid to qualify for the 2020 Toyko Games after insisting: “I have so much more to give.”

Pimentel has only competed in the Laser class for two years but punched above his weight in several races in Guanabara Bay, with finishes of 27th and 31st in the ten-race series.

The 25-year-old believes that with more experience under his belt he could challenge in the middle of the pack more consistently.

“I know inside of me I can do so much better,” said Pimentel, who finished 41st in the 46-boat fleet with 339 points after placing 42nd and 39th in Saturday’s final preliminary races.

“But that’s what happens when you’ve only been preparing for the Olympics for two years.

“I’m happy to have been here, happy to have competed and happy to have had some good moments.

“You always want more and you have to accept that you’re not always going to be in the mix, especially when you’re not as experienced as some of the other guys.”

Finances will be the biggest hurdle facing Pimentel should he decide to mount a campaign for the Tokyo Olympics.

He still believes he must pack on about 15lbs by increasing his calorie intake and weight training to close the gap on the world’s best.

Extra muscle will help him keep the boat flat so that when the wind hits the sail he can counterbalance it with his body.

“If I can grow a little bit more physically and get some more experience that would make a huge difference,” said Pimentel, who received a wild card for the Rio Games.

“To be able to gain weight while staying fit is really difficult.

“If I was to do Tokyo I think I would be able to manage it better because I would have more time.

“The goal would be to qualify at the nearest opportunity [at the World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, in July 2018].

“If I do the whole Olympic cycle and train seriously for four years I have to think I could be in the middle mixing it up properly with the other guys.”

Pimentel, who sails out of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, accepts he will have to leave the island to realise his sailing ambitions.

“You can’t really be at home too often because there’s nobody to train against,” said Pimentel, who took a two-year break from sailing in 2012.

“You would have to find some training partners and go to another country and work with other sailors every day.

“You have to give everything else up apart from your sport and work as hard as you possibly can. That really is the only way to do it.”