Every athlete has put in the hours to prepare for the Olympic Games but no member of the Bermuda squad has spent more time away from home than Adriana Penruddocke.

The 23-year-old made the decision to base herself in the sailing host city of Marseille, which is nearly 500 miles south of Paris, for almost three months as she tries to extract her best performance in the Women’s Dinghy, which starts in Paris on Wednesday.

“The time in Marseille has been really well spent,” Penruddocke said.

“The training blocks in May, June and July were really worthwhile in getting to know the venue and what the timings will be like. The days leading up to the event were just short, sharp sessions to stay sharp and ready to go. But I feel really prepared, I’m looking forward to it and ready to go and do some racing.

Spending three months on the Olympic racecourse has given Penruddocke advance warning of the conditions the fleet are likely to have to negotiate, but Marseille has kept the sailors guessing with changeable weather and wind speeds.

“Marseille is a pretty interesting venue as you can get pretty much anything,” Penruddocke said.

“You can get the north, early mistral direction with big shear or 25 to 30 knots or lighter around 18 knots and you can also get the southwesterly breeze, which can be anythging between six to 12 knots, and it’s really exciting to get a whole variety.

“Eight to 12 knots would be good just because it’s really tight and everybody goes the same speed and there are a lot of tactics involved and decision making, but I feel pretty confident in anything.

“Even if we get 20 to 30 knots, I like the breeze as it’s just about getting physical and working as hard as I can, that’s where I feel most confident and I don’t want to put it down to one set of conditions. We’ve put a lot of time in and I feel prepared for anything.”

Penruddocke, who carried the Bermuda flag at the opening ceremony, is ahead of her career schedule, initially targeting a first Olympics in Los Angeles 2028, so she is determined to learn as much as she can from her first Games.

“I have a few process goals to focus on but nothing results-wise,” she said.

“I just think if I stick to my plan and process and take it as it comes, one race at a time, anything can happen.

The main goal is 2028 and this Games is all about the experience and what we can learn from it . I’ll try my best, not put any expectations on the performance but also put on no limitations either. I’’m going all in but just not putting any result on it.

“The Olympics is obviously a unique and special event coming every four years and it’s the one time when everyone is at their peak, so that’s a cool experience, but I’ve raced against pretty much everyone in my fleet, so I’m trying to treat it like a regular event.