It was the last competitive event for Shirley and her fellow crew members, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb, before they head to Athens to prepare for the Olympics in August.

Athens will be Shirley’s fourth Olympic campaign. After 12 years of sailing single-handed she is now at the helm of a three-woman Yngling class keelboat.

If Shirley wins a second successive gold, she will be the first Scotswoman to do so.

An only child, Shirley was born in Dundee and grew up in a village just outside Stirling. She went to Alva Academy, a nearby secondary school, before going on to study for a degree in recreation management at Edinburgh University.

Shirley began sailing at the age of seven after her father built a kit boat. She started competing in national sailing events at 14, and was soon devoting all her spare time to the sport.

Two years after leaving university Shirley competed in the l992 Barcelona Olympics, where she came ninth.

At the Atlanta games four years later, she lost out on the bronze medal by just two points.

She immediately mounted a new campaign, and won gold at Sydney in 2000. The following year she was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

Shirley is married to Jamie Boag, a yacht broker and former stockbroker. They live in a townhouse in West Cowes.

How much money do you have in your wallet?

I have £20 that Jamie gave me this morning and I have €30 because we have just come back from Holland. At home on the island £20 might last me a couple of days. The Isle of Wight is a relatively cheap place to live. My cash usually goes on coffee out with friends, newspapers and magazines.

Do you have any credit cards?

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