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From Hawaii Ironman competitor to would-be Olympic windsurfer. It's not exactly the traditional route to sporting success.

But Alex Jones has made a virtue of shunning the conventional.

The 26-year-old felt he had achieved everything he could in competitive Ironman after competing at the world championships in Kona in 2007.

Now he has London 2012 (or more precisely Weymouth 2012) in his sights after swapping his bike and swimming goggles for an RS:X windsurfer in pursuit of an Olympic spot.

On the surface there seems to be little similarity between the supreme physical endurance test of the Ironman and the extreme technical expertise required to master the unique challenge of competitive windsurfing.

But as a triathlete, Jones honed the quality he'll require most in his Olympic campaign - a staggering work ethic.

The sheer commitment required to complete an Ironman, let alone make it to Hawaii, demonstrates a single-mindedness in pursuit of a goal that he believes will be essential over the next three years.

"The Ironman shows that you can train for 20-30 hours a week," he says - a matter-of-fact assessment of the road ahead.

Jones picked up the rudiments of windsurfing as a child growing up in Bermuda.

He got hooked on the sport at school in Newport, where he would routinely surf the snow-fringed shores of Rhode Island.

Even then he had contemplated an Olympic campaign. But injury and then his success at triathlon led him to chart a different course.

Now as he gets back on the board, he admits, he has a lot of catching up to do.

The physical strength required to pound a 9.5m square sail in high winds for up to an hour while travelling at speeds of up to 35mph means he has to pile on the muscle.

But by far the toughest ask will be to gain the necessary board speed and technical skills to compete against athletes who have been racing full-time for years.

"You've really got to train with the best in the world. If you work full-time and train hard there's only a very small possibility you will make it.

"It doesn't matter how strong you get it. It's about board speed and the only way you get better is to train with the top guys."

Jones has a leg-up in that respect. His close friend from college in Florida is American number one Ben Barger.

He spent a month working with Barger - who he says convinced him to take a shot at the Olympics - and some of his training partners, including Sydney silver medalist Amelie Lux, last December.

"I got slaughtered," he admits.

"I entered the World Cup race in Miami in January and I said if I come last I'm going to quit. I finished second from last."

Two more races in Majorca and at French Olympic week in Hyeres followed earlier this year and still, to his surprise, Jones has avoided the wooden spoon.

He was also able, through his connections, to hook up training sessions with Sydney gold medalist Christope Sieber, who was impressed with his natural talent and has endorsed his bid for sponsorship for an Olympic campaign.

Putting together a solid bid for sponsorship is as crucial to his chances as his commitment on the water.

Jones believes it will require an almost full-time commitment to reach the required level and the coaching, equipment and overseas training all come at a cost.

"Ricardo Santos (fifth at the last Olympics) invited me to train with him in Brazil. A lot of the top guys will basically go wherever it's cheap to live and good to surf and train together for a couple of months. There is no substitute for that kind of exposure but it does require funding."

Next up for Jones is the Island Games in Aland. It's a different kind of board and sail to the RS:X one-design windsurfs used in the Olympics. But he hopes, at least, that the competition may be less intense than on the World Cup circuit, where he has been racing against the cream of the crop.

The exact nature of his training schedule from then on will depend on the funding available but he hopes to compete at the 2010 World Championships and the 2011 Pan Am Games, culminating in the Olympic qualifiers at the 2011/2012 World Championships in Perth, Australia.

To qualify for the 2012 Olympics he would have to be in the top 35 countries at that event (only one athlete can qualify per country).

"It's no cakewalk but I think it can be done. I don't expect to be in medal contention at the Olympics but I think I can qualify."

Jones, who is also in the midst of a series of accountancy and management exams, has put his career on hold to pursue his ambition. He admits there is an element of risk involved personally and financially. But he relishes the fact that he's following a different, less conventional, path.

"I don't know why I need to do it, but I do. I would regret it if I didn't try and I would regret it if I could have done more to get there and I didn't."

Even so, he admits, there is an element of the surreal about his calling.

"I think it was Yossarian in Catch 22 who said winning an Olympic medal proved only that you were better than everyone at something that is of no use to anyone. You have to grasp the absurdity of it."

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