Only overnight leader 2012 Worlds silver medallist, Toni Stipanovic (CRO), and second-placed Julio Alsogaray (ARG) posted two finishes inside the top five. And Lymington-raised Thompson, 30, knows where he can make an impact on the leaderboard when racing for the Lasers resumes at 5.10pm (BST) tomorrow.

“For me it was a couple of mistakes on the first beat that put me at the back of the fleet at the windward marks,” Thompson explained. “But from there I think I sailed really well.

“It was a really tricky first day. The first beats threw up some really big surprises with big shifts right at the top and I didn’t manage to get it right. I had a lot of positives to take from my windward mark positions but it wasn’t the results I was looking for.

“It’s mixed emotions; it’s good to get the regatta away but I would have liked a better day and I’m sure everyone will come in and say the same thing.”

The Laser class boasts the biggest fleet in the Olympics of 46 boats, while after their third race tomorrow the sailors will be able to discard their worst score of their series, which is always guaranteed to shake up the leaderboard.

With a testing 12-16 knots across the bay for most of today’s racing, Thompson is relishing the challenge ahead.

He added: “That is the nature of sailing here in Rio and there is plenty more to do tomorrow. I managed to just niggle away, I didn’t take any good results but just my boat speed to come back for good results pleased me.

“Rio is a very, very tricky journey and it’s going to get trickier as we go on. It’s going to be a dog fight and I’m looking forward to it.”

The Laser class is scheduled to contest an 11 race series, with two races per day on 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 August before the final one off medal race on Monday 15 August.

To follow Thompson’s fortunes at Rio 2016 visit www.rya.org.uk/Rio2016, follow @BritishSailing on Twitter and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/britishsailingteam