SAILING: The Olympic Games may not begin for several days, but the mind games are in full swing at the sailing competition in southwest England.

Australia's Tom Slingsby is overwhelming favourite to win gold in the Laser dinghy class after a stellar 12 months of virtual invincibility.

But New Zealand's Andrew Murdoch piled pressure on his fierce trans-Tasman rival, claiming he may still be suffering mental demons after his shock 22nd-place finish in Beijing.

"Tommy was in a similar position going into Beijing and he finished in the 20s there," the Kiwi world No.6 told AAP.

"People can be the favourites and all that but it's what happens in the week that counts.

"He's probably going to have some demons from last time around."

Slingsby was indeed among the favourites going into Beijing but suffered one of his worst-ever results - and the general consensus was that pressure took its toll.

The 27-year-old five-time world champion says he now feels more mature and able to deal with the stress of competing at an Olympics.

Murdoch identified Team GB's Paul Goodison as another athlete who could knock Slingsby off his perch.

"There's a lot of other good guys who you just can't rule out," he added.

And the Kiwi insists he won't be trying to psych Slingsby out - on the water at least.

"I've got to sail my own race if I want to do well here and I think everyone's going to be taking that approach," he said.

The Olympic sailing competition begins in Weymouth on Sunday and the Laser fleet takes to the water on Monday.

Miles Godfrey
AAP