Zander Kirkland's Olympic dream will be decided in the next seven days on Turkish waters.

The 23-year-old Laser sailor, who has taken a sabbatical from Tufts University to try and earn a spot in Athens, will be battling against more than 150 athletes from 50 nations at Bodrum in the World Championships.

With less than 100 days to go before the Games, there are still eight nations fighting to qualify for the Olympics, making this week's sailing one of the most competitive world championships in history.

Kirkland goes into seven straight days of racing starting today and the pressure will be on over the entire week to perform despite the Bermudian's relative lack of size compared to his older and stronger competitors.