HE'S done it.

Hampshire's Alain Sign has been been picked to represent Great Britain in the 49er dinghy at the Olympic Games alongside crewmate Dylan Fletcher.

Sign, 30, from Lee on Solent, and Fletcher faced a selection battle with Fareham's John Pink and his London 2012 silver medallist crew Stuart Bithell but came out on top with just a few months to go until Rio 2016.

The pair are currently ranked fifth in the world in the 49er class, a high performance dinghy.

“It’s just a really awesome experience to be able to represent our country in sailing, just really emotional," Sign said.

“We definitely haven’t made it easy for the selectors to pick a boat, so we are really happy to come out on top.

"Through the whole cycle we have been kind of battling it out [with the other British teams], finishing next to each other.

“Dylan and I have known each other since I was 16 and come through a long journey, through lots of highs and lows so to come out on top [in Rio] would be an amazing experience and top it all off.”

Stephen Park, head of the Great Britain sailing team, said: “Dylan and Alain have come through a particularly close selection battle with teammates John Pink and Stuart Bithell and the fast progressing pairing of James Peters and Fynn Sterritt in the 49er class, but will go into their first Games full of passion and enthusiasm, and with the confidence of being World Championship medallists in the Olympic year."

Sign joins fellow Hampshire sailors Nick Thompson and Helena Lucas in the Team GB squad.

Thompson will race in the Laser class in his first Olympic outing while Lucas will defend the gold she won at London 2012 in the 2.4mR paralympic class.