Oxford windsurfer Alice Read hopes a taste of the big time at the World Championships can propel her towards the 2028 Olympics.

Paris 2024 will come too soon for Read, who learned her craft on Farmoor Reservoir, with world vice-champion Emma Wilson earning Team GB selection in the iQFOiL boat class.

Read managed to muscle in on the gold fleet in Lanzarote and finished 33rd overall.

“It was a very challenging event," she said. "I kept fighting throughout and it was a solid outcome for me. I made some mistakes and i know I could have done better, but I'm coming away content."

Read battled sickness in the build-up to the event and struggled to stay with the brutal pace in the early stages, feeling sluggish at the start of races.

A positive third day saw the 25-year-old make the gold fleet where she rubbed shoulders with Olympic bronze medallist Wilson and eventual champion Sharon Kantor.

She said: “It was amazing. I’m soaking up every experience as much as I can. The World Championships is the pinnacle in this class, I was happy and grateful to be in the gold fleet and seeing and learning off the girls in the front.

“Something I’ve always admired is the work rate of those top girls and how much they really push in every race. Every race I was racing like the last one, so that’s the thing I’ve taken from them. They push so hard and that’s what I’m trying to do."

Part of the British Sailing squad, Read stopped sailing to study ocean science and marine conservation at the University of Plymouth, graduating in 2021.

Read was approached by British Sailing to be part of a Paris 2024 project in iQFOiL, that is enjoying its first cycle as the Olympic equipment in windsurfing.

"I love the sport, I've been involved with it since I was a child," said Read. "Every time I go on the water, I love it and I'll keep going until I don't - hopefully that day doesn't come!

"I would love to get a top ten and participate in a medal race, where in our discipline anything can happen. The goal is the 2028 Olympics."

Follow the British Sailing Team on Instagram at @britishsailing