Ceci Wollmann, one of the Island’s top junior sailors, hopes hard work and dedication will culminate in the fulfillment of her goals at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club sailor has left no stone unturned in her preparations for the Games, and is determined to give a good account of herself in the single handed Byte CII.

“I’m hoping maybe for a top-five finish and have trained really hard all year so hopefully it goes well,” Wollmann said.

“I’m so excited and it is going to be so totally different for sure.”

Wollmann, 16, met the qualification standard for Bermuda to compete at the Youth Olympics after finishing third among the female division at last year’s Byte CII World Championships held in Newport, Rhode Island.

“It was not a real big decision,” Martin Siese, the Bermuda Sailing Association president, said.

“Ceci is head and shoulders our best sailor that meets the age eligibility requirements for this event, so it was not a hard decision to send her.

“Ceci clearly is our top sailor in that age group right now and we wish her the best of luck.”

Siese added: “Ceci is a really good size for the Byte CII, is talented and has certainly been putting the work in the gym on her fitness.

“There is no pressure on her and I am not expecting her to come back with a medal.

“But I really would not be surprised even if she did.”

Wollmann, who attends Saltus Grammar School, underlined her potential after claiming the girls’ title at February’s North American Byte Championships in Florida.

“I came out on top at the North Americans so I am quite familiar with the North American sailors,” Wollmann said.

“But I am a bit nervous about how good the European and Asian sailors are going to be, and I have never raced against them in the Byte before.

“I haven’t sailed against too many of these people before, so I don’t know who will really pop up good.”

Wollmann warmed up for the Games competing in the Laser Radial at last month’s ISAF Youth Worlds in Portugal, where she finished in the lower half of the fleet, racing against some of the sailors she will come up against in China.