Olympic hopefuls Jesse and Zander Kirkland will be keen to pick up where they left off in Spain earlier this month at the upcoming Seiko 49er World Championships in Zadar, Croatia.The local siblings produced their best showing to date in the 49er Skiff at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia-MAPFRE regatta where they placed 13th overall and reached the Gold fleet for the first time at that level.Now the Kirklands will be hoping that rich vein of form spills over in the World Championships which represents their final chance of qualifying for this summer’s Olympics in England.In order to earn one of the five remaining Olympic slots the Kirklands must finish among the top 35 boats in the 77-boat fleet in Croatia.It’s a goal crewman Zander reckons is well within reach.“Our goal is going to be Gold Fleet which is finishing in the top 25,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult to achieve but I think we have what it takes to achieve that.”After claiming a maiden win in the Gold fleet in Spain the Kirklands arrived in Croatia last week with their confidence soaring.“Just because we had a good regatta in Spain doesn’t promise anything, but it proves to us that we can do it,” Zander said. “I think it’s good for our mental approach going into the World Championships.”Skipper Jesse agrees.“Knowing that we can actually win races and get top fives and tens and be just outside of the medal race at big championships certainly helps our confidence,” the past All-American sailor said.The Kirklands have come on strongly in recent months as all their dedication, hard work and sacrifice appears to be paying off.“Now you can see the top guys respect us and that’s a big part of sailing, getting a little respect from the competition,” Jesse said. “I think it’s good we are being recognised and respected by other members of the fleet.”The Kirklands travelled to Croatia last week in the hope of getting an early jump on the competition.“We want to get the boat tuned and do practice races with all the guys,” Zander said. “We also want to talk to fishermen, sailors and anybody else who can tell us about the wind and just go in with a calm approach and be focused.”The pair are currently being put through their paces in Croatia by world class coach Ramon.“We have him for the training and regatta and we are excited to see him, he is definitely a plus,” Jesse said.Zander added: “Ramon is a world class coach who has a proven track record and a good eye for little things that make a big difference.”The 49er World Championships, to be hosted by Sailing Club Uskok, will be held from May 5-13.The Championship will consist of an opening series and a medal race. The opening series will be divided into a qualifying series and a final series.The eventual top 10 finishers in the opening series will advance to the medal race.