She has been left out by the selectors for the Yngling class in the 2008 Olympics.

 

The one available spot has instead been given to Sarah Ayton and her crew of Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson.

 

Robertson won gold at the 2000 Games in Sydney before teaming up with Ayton and Webb to take the Olympic Yngling crown in Athens four years later.

 

But the trio split when Robertson, 39, decided to pursue other projects.

 

She also gave birth to twins last summer.

 

Ben Ainslie, another double Olympic champion, has yet to secure his place at next year's Games either.

 

Selectors have deferred naming a participant in the Finn class after Ainslie was appointed skipper of Britain's challenge for the 2009 America's Cup.

 

The Royal Yatching Association (RYA) wants to assess whether the 30-year-old's preparations for next year's Games will be compromised by his involvement in the competition.

 

However, it would be a surprise if Ainslie, who won gold in the Laser class in 2000 before switching to the Finn for the 2004 Games, was not chosen.

 

The decision to omit Robertson and her crew of Annie Lush and Lucy Macgregor, who only came together last November, comes as no great shock, though.

 

They finished third at the World Championships in July but were behind Ayton, Webb and Wilson, who won gold.

 

Kent-born Ayton, 27, and her crew also won August's Olympic test event in Qingdao.

 

Robertson had hoped the RYA would hold off their decision until after the next World Championships, which take place in January.

 

"People always take the easy option," she said, adding that she felt her crew was making rapid progress despite their brief time together.

 

Robertson was one of the most high-profile figures during London's successful bid to host the Olympics and chairman Sebastian Coe has credited her with helping win vital public support in Scotland, where she was born.

 

Paul Goodison has, as expected, been selected for the Laser class.

 

He is the world number one in the category and was fourth in Athens.

 

In the Laser Radial class, Charlotte Dobson, Penny Clark, Andrea Brewster and Lizzie Vickers are competing for one spot and will be assessed at regattas in the spring of 2008.