In the immediate aftermath of her victory, Robertson modestly down played her role in the victory. She said: "I'm overwhelmed that we managed to put it all together. I can't praise the other two enough.
"I'm absolutely thrilled. After all, I'm only the driver; I steer the bus."
However, Ayton spoke of how their veteran captain kept them focused: "For sure Shirley calmed us down. We were a little bit nervous. She just kind of keeps it real before the start of races, while you can see other crews doing and saying all sorts of stupid things.
"Throughout the three years we've been together in this class, Shirley always works 100 percent. She expects no less from myself and Sarah Webb in return. At any regatta with Shirley she always gives it to you straight down the line and we respect that."
Robertson was brought up in Menstrie, near Stirling, and first set sail at Loch Ard in the Trossachs as a child with the encouragement of her father, Ian, who built her first dinghy in the family garage.
At her first-ever regatta at Linlithgow in her teens, she recalls spending half the race being turned upside down.
She progressed in her sport and went to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 at the age of 24 with high hopes of winning a medal, but didn't make an impression on the opposition until the following Olympics in Atlanta.
Her ninth place in the Catalan capital was creditable for a relative novice but Robertson felt embarrassed at how unprofessional she was compared to her rivals.
Taking this lesson onboard, she began practising to the point of obsession for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
The former head girl at Alva Academy was in contention for a medal until the last race when she slipped to fourth but the general consensus was that she was not defeated by other competitors but by her own frame of mind.
