Sailors Campbell Patton and Adriana Penruddocke will get their first taste of what life may be like at the Paris Olympics when they compete at the Olympic Test Event on Friday.

Australia-based sailor Patton is competing in the men’s single-handed ILCA 7 class and Penruddocke in the single-handed women’s ILCA 6 class at the event held at Marseilles Marina from July 7 to 16.

“I am really excited about going to the Olympic Test Event in Marseilles,” Patton told The Royal Gazette.

“It will pretty much be an accurate representation of what the Olympic Games will be like exactly a year after that; same waters, very similar level of competition, same format.

“That’s really exciting and I think it will be a really good experience for me to race on those waters in that venue and get a taste of what the Olympics may be like, which is of course my primary goal.”

Patton is among a trio of local sailors attempting to represent Bermuda in the class at next year’s Olympics along with Sebastian Kempe and Benn Smith.

“The Olympic qualification regattas are coming quickly and I’ve got more work to do,” Patton added. “I’ve definitely got more improvements to make and that means more time on the water, more time in the gym.

“It’s all going really well at the moment and if I can keep this momentum that I have right now, I think that I can be looking at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“My training and sailing has been a really positive upwards trajectory the last couple of years. I’ve really applied myself and have worked extremely hard over the last 18 months.

“I have committed every essence of my being towards this goal of going to the Olympics, so it’s a really exciting time.”

Penruddocke, who is based in England, is equally as excited to compete at the upcoming regatta, which she is using as preparation for next month’s ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship in The Hague, Netherlands, where she will attempt to secure a spot for Bermuda at next year’s Olympics at the earliest opportunity.

“The Test Event will be taken as a training event before going big for the first Olympic country qualifier at the Worlds in August,” she said.

“I’m very excited about all this and looking forward to doing my best and seeing what happens.”

Penruddocke is also inspired by her form of late and has been training hard both on and off the water in preparation for her upcoming international commitments.

“Sailing so far is going well and on target to keep the personal development going,” she added.

“My coach Shaun Priestley and I have set out the next phase of training, which will be in Weymouth and Stokes Bay, before heading to the Olympic Test Event and Worlds.”

Penruddocke is also scheduled to compete for Bermuda in the women’s ILCA 6 class at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, later this year.

“I am also excited for the Pan Ams and we have already planned some more training in various swell locations to help prepare for conditions which the Pan Ams venue will have,” she said.

It remains to be seen who will compete for Bermuda at the Pan American Games in the men’s ILCA 7 class with Patton, Kempe and Smith also battling it out for the right to represent the island.

Patton secured Bermuda’s spot for the Pan American Games at the US Open Sailing Series in Clearwater, Florida in January.

The trio of Patton, Kempe and Smith will accompany Penruddocke to the Netherlands next month as they are competing in the ILCA 7 World Championship which, along with the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship, are being held in conjunction with the Sailing World Championship.

Originally known as the Laser, the ILCA dinghy is a single-handed racing dinghy and Olympic-class boat for both men and women sailors.