One spot on earth yields five Olympic stars!

by John Curnow on 3 Jun 2016 Five members of the 2016 Australian Sailing Team heading for the Rio Olympics call one place home. Before you all answer Australia, and as Peter Allen goes off into the chorus, we’re specifically talking about one spot in a place called Manly on the shores of Moreton Bay. It is a club that has stupendous facilities, but is probably better known for its complete embodiment of family spirit, can do attitude and dedication to results. It is the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron and they are so very proud of Mat Belcher, Will Ryan, Ashley Stoddart, Jaime Ryan and Jake Lilley.

Mat and Will form the Men’s 470 crew, Ashley is in the Women’s Laser Radial, Jake the Finn and Jaime (along with Carrie Smith) forms the Women’s 470 crew. Note the latter four of them are first time representatives. After spectacular results at the London 2012 Olympic Games, sailing is certainly on the public and media radar, with anticipation high for more in a couple of months’ time.

The truly magnificent Australian Sailing Team Head Coach, Victor Kovalenko, said, “Yes there was a lot of pressure on us all after the great results at Weymouth in 2012. It is our job to deal with it. We settled on requiring top six results at the World Championships and top three at the Europeans. This also meant that athletes targeting Tokyo 2020 were also in the mix, and we had a lot of people working hard to match the standards.”

“Jake (Lilley) just started in the Finn this quadrennial, so that is an outstanding performance to now be on his way to Rio. Equally, Jason (Waterhouse) and Lisa (Darmanin) had to deliver top results to climb over the incredibly accomplished Darren Bundock who was sailing with 2012 medallist, Nina Curtis. There was a terrific battle in Laser too, with Tom (Burton) and Matt (Wearn) now ranked first and second in the world. Equally, Mat (Belcher) and Will (Ryan) were very proud to qualify for Rio in their first regatta.”

“The entire team has risen to the task. This means our coaches, physiotherapists, managers, and psychologists have all made their contributions too, as part of a strong and effective team. It comes down to the efforts of all the providers on the team. Everyone is proud to call themselves part of team Australia and the pressure is just part of the job. We are looking forward to a great regatta and wonderful Olympics. It is always something special for the Australian Sailing Team, but everyone has enjoyed working hard to match the standards.”

Many will be off to represent the Green and Gold for the first time, long after the boxing kangaroo rose to prominence as a result of some special sailors in the 80’s. That spirit of both desire and determination exists still, as you can see when you talk with these new Aussie Ambassadors.

One of them is Ashley Stoddart, who will be representing us in the Women’s single person dinghy, the Laser Radial. Stoddart said, “I began sailing at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron when I was just seven years of age and now as a 22 year old it’s a true honour to represent both my country and the Squadron. I am extremely elated and it’s a great feeling after what has been a journey from girl through to woman, and child to athlete. Now my dream as a 14 year old teen has come to life!”

“It’s the fruit from a lot of hard work, and there have been a lot of people who have helped me along the way - my parents, teachers, fellow Squadron members and sailors, friends and family, coaches, supporters - the list goes on. However I do owe a lot of thanks to the time, money and support invested by many special people.”

“The training continues all the way into Rio, and I’m pushing to get the best out of myself for the Olympic Games, as we draw ever nearer”, said Stoddart.

Indeed the squad is literally just back from another training block in Rio and soon to be in Weymouth once more. They are all smiling, for even if the jet lag gets to them, you would never know, based on the enthusiasm they display. Will Ryan is a tall, lanky, cheery guy, which is good when you’re the for’ard hand on the two-person 470 dinghy. He’s also the elder of the two Ryan siblings on the team, but you kind of get the feeling that Jaime is boss and Will is more than smart enough to know it.

Ryan the elder said, “It is such a huge honour to be selected for the Olympics. It is something I have been working towards for a long time. However with Mat and Victor it is something that we have been extremely focused upon for the past four years. Whilst the real work is yet to begin, I think we feel happy with the situation we are in at present, and ultimately we’re just really looking forward to the racing beginning!”

“To be selected alongside my sister Jaime is also an amazing opportunity, and a huge achievement on her behalf! It is a great reward for her hard work and focus with plenty of challenges along the way. This is also hugely rewarding for my family who have all invested and sacrificed a lot for us to have this opportunity now.”

“There is now only a little over two months to go, so we still have plenty of hard work to make sure we have done everything possible and earn our spot in the amazing history of Australian athletes which have gone before us.”

Now just like her brother, Jaime Ryan is also a for’ard hand, but obviously in the Women’s 470, where she crews with Carrie Smith. She is a bright and friendly soul, but with a focus and now this has obviously paid off! “I am always proud to say that I represent Australia, but to represent Australia at the Olympics is what we all dream of. It’s such an honour to be selected, and to be honest I’m not sure that it’s really sunk in yet still... To think that in a few months time I will be one of the athletes that I was watching on TV in admiration only four years ago is pretty crazy.”

“I’m so excited to be able to share the experience with my brother Will. He’s been a huge support for me since I joined him on the circuit, and I am always so proud of him. There’s no way I wasn’t going to be in Rio this August to see him hopefully bring home the Gold, but to be there as a competitor alongside him will be really special.”

The final new Olympian is Jake Lilley, who only recently learned of his inclusion after a tremendous fourth place at the Finn World Championship. “Almost four years ago, I began a journey in the Finn with the sole ambition of winning an Olympic Gold Medal.”

“Since day one, the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQ) has been incredibly supportive of my dream, from the members to the Commodores and everyone in between. It's such a fantastic feeling to be apart of this club, and an even greater honour to represent RQ on the world stage, particularly so at the upcoming Olympics.”

Lilley added, “Without the support of everybody at the Squadron, and particularly the contributions and dedication shown by Kevin Miller, Barry Cuneo and Darren Gilbert, the Olympics would be nothing but a distant dream.”

“In terms of racing, we live on the wrong side of the world, as everything is in Europe. It provides a huge strain, not only in terms of cost, travel and logistics, but also puts us up against great odds of achieving high level success, which is ingrained in European sailors from big fleet, high level racing from a very young age.”

“It's pretty incredible to think that from our great club at Manly in Queensland, we will now field five of the 11 Australian Olympic Sailing Team athletes in Rio de Janeiro. It's truly testament to our club and the countless hours of hard work by everyone that's been involved over a very long period of time to achieve such feats.”

“The Road to Rio has been challenging with many ups and downs, the path has changed directions, but the destination has never wavered. Personally, it was never about 'qualifying' for the Olympics. Sure, it's an integral part of obtaining the opportunity to win an Olympic medal, but my vision was always beyond that.”

“Australian Yachting requires a high standard to make the Olympic Team, so it's important to achieve top-level results. However, it's even more important to achieve World Class performances if you hope to come home from an Olympics with a medal. This means there are always super intense situations with a lot of pressure at regattas and if you’ve been away from home for almost five months you get somewhat tired and run down.”

“It can be tough, and you do feel overloaded, but with the club and support team behind me you get through. I can't express enough, how much everyone involved with the campaign brings an incredible amount of energy and motivation. All of the messages and support helps you to dig that bit deeper and get the job done. In an individual event, I feel like I'm sailing with a whole team!”

Lilley concluded by saying, “It will be no different at the Olympic Games. You are all part of the team, and I hope to share the journey with you all in Brazil!”

And so finally to the ‘old hand’, as it were. As a Gold Coast schoolboy he won the 420 World Championship and his reward was to carry the closing ceremony flag at the 2000 Games in Sydney. In 2008 he drove a media boat at the Olympics in Qingdao and watched Wilmot and Page collect a Gold Medal. Then in 2012 at Weymouth it would be his turn to do exactly the same.

He is the super-friendly Mat Belcher and he said of it all, “It is a great feeling to be heading to Rio with Will. We have been really happy with our preparations, and certainly getting more comfortable with Rio’s conditions and environment.”

“To have so many RQYS members along side us is a great testament to the support the club has shown towards its Olympic aspirants. As a life member of the club, I couldn’t be prouder of my fellow club mates. We have been brought through the same support system and have that connection together.”

Belcher said in conclusion, “RQ has always supported and trusted me since very early into my career, and this includes my wife, who actually represented Germany in 2012. I will be forever grateful to the club for the opportunity they provided me, and to see this passed on through the next generation coming through is exciting. We have a lot of talented sailors at the club. I’m not surprised a large majority of our team is coming from our terrific spot in Manly.”

It seems entirely fitting to finish with a comment from the club’s Commodore, Ian Threlfall. “Naturally we are very thrilled for all of our Olympians, especially those off to their first Games. As a club, we also acknowledge the efforts of our two members who are attending in support roles. Peter Conde is the Program Director of the Australian Sailing Team and also Jared West, who is the Australian Laser Radial Coach.”

“We have a great spot here at RQ and can cater for anyone wanting to learn to sail, do a Wednesday ‘WAGS’, venture much farther offshore, or of course, race competitively. Our terrific facilities make it a very family friendly atmosphere, so it is no wonder that these families spend time here together socially and on the water.”

You can bet that come regatta time at Rio there will be a very dedicated band of followers watching their stars from one big spot on the other side of the world. No telescopes required, for it will be on the big screen and if you’re nearby, you’ll be welcome to see what it is all about.