London, United Kingdom

After dominating the Finn class at the Palma World Cup regatta, British sailing superstar Ben Ainslie is now focusing on the upcoming 2012 Olympics as he tries to put his recent back problems behind him.

Ainslie, one of Great Britain's medal hopes in the London Games, has endured a difficult summer, which included a disqualification at the World Championships last December.

The three-time Olympic champion Ainslie was disqualified at the 2011 ISAF World championships after physically threatening a photographer during the regatta. Ainslie was winning the regatta when he was found guilty of gross misconduct.

Ainslie then underwent surgery to address a back problem.

"There's a lot of hard work to go yet in the coming months to get the preparation absolutely right for the Games," the 35-year-old Ainslie said via the Mail Online.

"I think for everybody involved it's going to be a fantastic experience. I'm very, very excited about it and I hope London does us proud."

Ainslie dominated the Laser class at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after that success.

He then gained some 18 kilograms that enabled him to move to the larger Finn class, which allowed to participate in the 2004 Athens Games and win his second Olympic gold medal.

Ainslie, who was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 in recognition of his triumph at the Athens Games, was again promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009, after dominating the Finn class at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Ainslie also captured the silver medal in the Laser class at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Ainslie has also been recognized with the ISAF World Sailor of the Year a record three times ('98, '02, and '08). He was also nominated to the International Sailing Federation top award in 2004 and 2011.

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