Ahead of the Atlanta Games, she was so preoccupied with what she called her need to win that an obsession with victory became self-defeating, stopping the potential of this technically excellent sailor.
Once she had conquered her own demons, doubts about her temperament disappeared and Robertson allowed her class to shine through.
At the Sydney Olympics she led from the start, but was pushed to the end in a rigorous examination of her mental toughness. In the first race of the final day she was placed a lowly 16th, allowing Margriet Matthysse of Holland to cut her lead to five points with one race to sail. Silver was secure but the real test was making it gold. Matthysse won again, but needing to be at least fourth, Robertson managed a fighting third. Her will to win had never diminished. It was just a question of controlling it.
But there seems something perverse in the fact that throughout her long and successful career her major concern has been whether she can she continue financially, when as a country we allow thousands of mediocre footballers to make a living.
In 1995 she stated defiantly: "If I'm in debt, then I'm in debt. I don't care how much anything costs. I always live at my credit limit. I go from overdraft limit to overdraft limit with a wallet full of credit cards. When you're trying to be the best in the world, debt is irrelevant."
But with the introduction of National Lottery funding in 1998, Robertson could focus fully on sailing rather than raising money.
Jumping ship to Yngling brought the blonde Scot new financial problems. As well as being the newest class, Yngling is also the most expensive.
"I had just got married and had reached an age where I didn't want financial issues to impact on my domestic situation," said Robertson. Major sponsorship from Volvo and a host of dinners and sponsorship pledges supplied the rest allied to lottery support.
Can Robertson maintain her hunger for success until the next Olympics in Beijing in 2008? Perhaps she gave a clue when she said: "I've always felt comfortable in a boat. It's a nice place to be."
