Please select your home edition
Edition
Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 LEADERBOARD

Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page 470 Gold medal winners at London 2012

by Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page on 18 Aug 2012
Mathew Belcher and Malcom Page celebrating their Gold Medal win in the Mens 470 - with coach Victor Kovalenko - his sixth Olympic Gold as a coach Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz
Malcolm Page, Australia's 470 Gold medallist at London 2012 explains:

Obviously Mat (Belcher) and I are top of the world at the moment. Winning the Gold Medal and becoming Olympic Champions in London was the mission we set four years ago, when we joined as a team. But the most satisfying thing was that we did it in such style. Coach Victor always said he wanted us to dominate the final year leading into the games.... which is exactly what we did.


Since the Olympic test event one year ago, we have won all regattas bar the Sail Melbourne World Cup event late last year. Since that moment we have been unstoppable. The Olympic games was our eighth regatta in a row, which included two World Championships and four World Cup events.

I think the biggest feeling we both felt upon victory after carrying the 'favourite and world number 1' target was relief. The week of competition was very difficult. We had strong winds for the majority of the competition which also made it very physical. This breeze range meant that we struggled all week with upwind speed compared to the British pair (the only boat though!) due to the pom crew being heavier than me. Thankfully once we got around the top mark and got the spinnaker up, we were able to go faster than them. So we had to use every little bit of wind strategy and tactics to keep ourselves in the game, so that we would be in the fight at the end of the week.

We went into the final race with a slim lead with a four point margin. The wind was predicted to be very light on this race day... and sure enough... we were waiting for close to five hours under a postponement flag before the races were cancelled for that day. So we had to come back the next day to try again. The winds were not a lot stronger, but it was sailable. The race started with the British pair having the Gold at the first mark. We thankfully pulled out the jets on the first downwind to take the lead from them. The race continued like this with the placings being in the balance, but we managed to get our noses ahead for the last spinnaker ride to the finish. We then kept everything simple and avoided any situations with other boats. After crossing the line in second, and GBR in fourth, we had secured the Gold Medal by eight points overall.

It was a really special moment, as this was the first time that any Australia sailor has won dual Gold Medals. Also we were the only people in the whole Australian Olympic Team to defend the title from the Beijing Olympics. This was obviously enough for the AOC Chef de Mission Nick Green to give me a call the morning after receiving our medals to ask if I would like the honour of carrying the Australian Flag and leading the whole AUS team into the closing ceremony. What an incredible honour.

Additionally, the Australian Olympic Sailing Team was amazing with delivering three Golds and one Silver medal in total. Eight of the 13 athletes that were selected in the team came home with some 'Bling'. These results made Australia the No.1 sailing team in the world, and No.1 sport for the whole Australian Olympic Team.

These results are a credit to the Australian Sailing Team (AST) and their system, and the people who are part of the process. The AST Sponsors, Government support and the AST Patrons have naturally been instrumental in this success, and I appreciate all that they have done for me and the team as a whole.

A few thank you's before I sign off. A huge thank you to Mathew as well as my personal sponsors, family and friends for all your support. Further I also owe thank you's to the other special people in our core team - to Sam Kivell and Will Ryan, thank you for being awesome training partners and great mates! And most importantly thank you to our super coach Victor 'Medal Maker' Kovalenko for master minding the last 15 years for me and 12 years for Mat, and all the success that I have enjoyed.

But we save the best to last, thanks to all of you for the never ending supply of support and belief over the last four years.

Mat and Malcolm

Boat Books Australia FOOTERRooster 2020 - Impact BA - AUS FOOTERHyde Sails 2022 One Design SALE FOOTER

Related Articles

New Zhik SuperThin Bootie
Next generation footwear The SuperThin Bootie pushes the boundaries for footwear with an all new knitted upper that is 4X more durable to abrasion than neoprene, combined with a super lightweight and flexible rubber sole for enhanced manoeuvrability.
Posted today at 3:00 am
America's Cup: The State of the Cup
A look at the state of the 2024 America's Cup, 12 months after the venue announcement. A look at the state of the 2024 America's Cup, 12 months after the venue announcement. Work has been ongoing transforming the Port Vell and Port Olímpic areas ready to host the competing teams who are setting up bases and will be onsite from Summer 2023.
Posted on 28 Mar
The Ocean Race launch Metaverse experience
An experience to engage fans and businesses in a new way The Ocean Race launched a metaverse experience pilot today with Virtual Regatta and Accenture to engage fans and businesses in a new way with the world-renowned, global yacht race.
Posted on 28 Mar
RS Aero Victoria State Titles
32 helms competing as part of George Mac Regatta RS Aero Victorian State Titles was held in conjunction with the George Mac Regatta at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Racing was held in breeze from 6kts to 22kts and from flat seas to typical Port Phillip big waves.
Posted on 28 Mar
2023 Surazo Infernal - Day 1
Kicking off with the Open Am rounds in in front of a very enthusiastic crowd Welcome to the Surazo Infernal! This event will introduce the full scale seeding round for the 4 STAR Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour events.
Posted on 28 Mar
Trofeo Princesa Sofía carbon footprint reduction
The first milestone of the collaboration will be zero emissions The Olympic class regatta signs an agreement with the Mallorcan company Trueword to implement an innovative environmental strategy.
Posted on 28 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 30
Team Malizia continues to head the leaderboard Team Malizia continues to head the leaderboard in leg 3 of The Ocean Race after leading the fleet around Cape Horn.
Posted on 28 Mar
The Ocean Race sailors round The Horn
Rosalin Kuiper can now joke about her head injury aboard Team Malizia For armchair pundits, few offshore adventures are more fun to watch from afar than the Southern Ocean legs of storied events such as the singlehanded Vendee Globe or the fully crewed The Ocean Race.
Posted on 28 Mar
Andoo Comanche and Rex to chase race records
In the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race When the gun fires sending the fleet on its way in the 2023 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race at 1pm, on Friday 31 March, Andoo Comanche's crew will be chasing the race record of 17 hours 10 minutes 31 seconds.
Posted on 28 Mar
Phuket Raceweek 2023 postponed
Looking forward to 2024... Despite our best efforts we are sorry to report the postponement of the 2023 edition of Phuket Raceweek.
Posted on 28 Mar