Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

Australia's Matt Wearn wins Laser Gold at Tokyo Olympics

by Michael Martin 1 Aug 2021 20:44 AEST 1 August 2021
Matt Wearn - Tokyo 2020 Olympics Regatta © Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Matt Wearn has maintained Australia's Olympic dominance in the Laser, today winning the nation's third consecutive gold medal in the class.

Wearn overcame a nervous start to the regatta to completely dominate the middle and late stages and had the Gold wrapped up in advance of today's Medal Race, only having to sail and finish to claim his prize.

"Probably relief," was the 25-year-old's first emotion after securing the Olympic crown. "It has been quite a long journey and a particularly stressful week. It wasn't the ideal start to a regatta, so I couldn't have felt better than locking away a gold medal before the Medal Race."

Wearn got away poorly at the Olympic regatta posting a 17th and 28th in his first two races. The Western Australian quickly put those behind him, and from the mid-stages of the regatta, secured six consecutive top-four finishes. These set up his victory lap in today's Medal Race.

At what stage did Wearn know he has secured the Gold?

"In the last fleet race, I had a vague idea when I was rounding that last top mark, I was in that leading group and saw Pavlos (Kontides) was reasonably deep. Hermann (Tomasgaard) was up with me, but I had a reasonable points gap on him as well," the new Olympic champion said.

"That was probably when it started to feel a little bit more real, but it wasn't until I crossed the line and confirmed it with Blackers (coach Michael Blackburn) that we were 22 points in front and had sealed the deal."

The man behind Australia's three consecutive Laser gold medals is master coach and Sydney 2000 Olympics Laser bronze medallist, Michael Blackburn.

"Quite a thrill to get it done early," Blackburn said before today's Medal Race. "It has been a goal of mine to have someone win the regatta before the Medal Race, which can be a bit iffy sometimes. To get it done in such a good style and quite unexpectedly is quite the thrill."

Blackburn will now go down as an Olympic coaching great. He credits the rest of the Australian Sailing Team Laser squad, and a fake review conducted 12 months ago, with helping today's win.

"Around this time last year we pretended the Games were over and Matt had finished fourth," Blackburn said. "We did a review based on that concept. I got the other guys in the squad to help, given their intimate knowledge of how Matt sails, and that review highlighted that we needed to tune up the light wind skills.

"We worked on that specifically over the past 12 months and that probably made a 20-30 percent improvement in light wind execution and speed. That made a real difference in the 4 to 5 knot races here at the Games."

Choosing your favourite gold medal would be like choosing your favourite child, but Blackburn acknowledges that this one is a bit different.

"I've been thinking about that a little bit. Each of Tom (Slingsby - 2012), Tom (Burton - 2016) and Matt are supremely dedicated, special athletes, who worked really hard towards this goal. The difference this time was the lack of knowing where we were at on the international scene, and with Matt being a first-time Olympian, there were extra challenges and stresses around that which we had to manage."

Being the competitive sailor he is, Wearn was not content just to sail around the course in the Medal Race. Despite starting further down the line so as not to interfere with the rest of the fleet, with the silver and bronze medals still to be decided, Wearn finished second.

Australia's Men's 470 team of Mat Belcher and Will Ryan had another dream day today, posting a win and a second place in their two races. They hold a 19-point lead heading into the final day of fleet races tomorrow.

"We felt like we were in a really good rhythm (before yesterday's day off), so all you want to do is try to keep it going," said Belcher, who won Men's 470 Gold with Malcolm Page at the London 2012 Games and Silver with Ryan at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

"We don't usually have days off at a regatta, so we had a lot of time to think. To come away with a 1 and a 2 today is something we are really proud of."

Belcher and Ryan know that if they can extend their lead to 20 points after tomorrow's racing, then they can do what their great friend Wearn did and secure Gold ahead of their Medal Race on Wednesday.

Elsewhere today Australia's Nacra 17 team of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (4th) and Finn sailor Jake Lilley (7th) both qualified for their Medal Races on Tuesday.

The sailing component of the Olympic Games continues tomorrow with the final two fleet races in the Men's and Women's 470 and the Medal Races for the 49er and 49erFX classes.

Australian Sailing would like to acknowledge and thank the Australian Olympic Committee for the work done in managing the athletes and staff of the Australian Olympic Sailing Selection at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

You can follow live tracking of the races on the Australian Sailing Team website.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Regatta standings:

49er (19 boats)
1st: Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) (12), 3, 7, 2, 10, 1, 3, 6, 2, 5, 2, 11 - 52 pts
2nd: Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stuart Bithell (GBR) 2, 8, 4, 1, 12, 2, 2, (16), 3, 9, 6, 7 - 56 pts
3rd: Diego Botin and Iago Lopez Marra (ESP) 5, 1, 2, 5, 4, 10, (15), 2, 5, 4, 12, 6 - 56 pts
12th: Will Phillips and Sam Phillips (AUS) 7, 4, 1, 8, 11, 15, 16, (UFD), 18, 14, 8, 9 - 111 pts

49erFX (21 boats)
1st: Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) - (15), 5, 1, 10, 7, 6, 1, 6, 10, 12, 2, 10 - 70 pts
2nd: Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED) (13), 8, 2, 1, 6, 1, 12, 5, 6, 5, 12, (16) - 71 pts
3rd: Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke (GER) 5, 6, 8, 3, (13), 12, 11, 12, 3, 7, 3, 3 - 73 pts
13th: Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan (AUS) 9, 11, 7, 9, 11, 10, 15, 10, (19), 11, 8, 8 - 128 pts

Finn (19 boats)
1st: Giles Scott (GBR) (9), 9, 1, 1, 1, 1, 6, 1, 1, 7 - 28 pts
2nd: Zsombor Berecz (HUN) 2, 2, (9), 4, 6, 7, 3, 5, 4, 4 - 37 pts
3rd: Joan Cardona (ESP) 3, 3, 5, 3, 2, 3, (13), 7, 5, 8 - 39 pts
7th: Jake Lilley (AUS) 10, 8, 4, 11, 7, 9, (15), 6, 2, 6 - 63 pts

Laser (35 boats) - Complete
1st: Matt Wearn (AUS) 17, (28), 2, 4, 2, 2, 1, 1, 12, 8, MR: 2 - 53 pts (GOLD)
2nd: Hermann Tomasgaard (NOR) 3, (18), 15, 2, 6, 8, 10, 5, (19), 4, MR: 8 - 82 pts
3rd: Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) 15, 6, 3, (22), 13, 4, 5, 11, 7, 10, MR: 14 - 85 pts

Laser Radial (44 boats) - Complete
1st: Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) 6, 5, 3, 13, 4, 4, 2, 1, 26, (DNF), MR: 14 - 78 pts
2nd: Josefin Olsson (SWE) (34), 15, 8, 4, 1, 6, 4, 9, 22, 10 MR: 2 - 81 pts
2nd: Marit Bouwmeester (NED) 21, 14, 7, 2, 3, 9, (BFD), 7, 1, 7, MR: 12 - 83 pts
14th: Mara Stransky (AUS) 12, 26, 19, 10, 19, 16, (BFD), 24, 3, 1 - 130 pts

Men's 470 (19 boats)
1st: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) 2, (5), 1, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1 - 14 pts
2nd: Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez Garcia-Paz (ESP) 10, 1, 10, 6, (14), 1, 3, 2 - 33 pts
3rd: Anton Dahlberg (SWE) 1, (15), 8, 5, 6, 11, 1, 5 - 37 pts
3rd: Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR) 3, 8, 2, 4, (10), 5, 9, 6 - 37 pts

Women's 470 (21 boats)
1st: Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) 4, 3, (7), 1, 3, 3, 1, 3 - 18 pts
2nd: Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar (POL) 1, 1, 2, 5, (12), 1, 5, 4 - 19 pts
3rd: Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz (FRA) 3, 2, 4, 7, 1, (12), 6, 5 - 28 pts
16th: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries (AUS) 7, 12, 12, 8, 18, (19), 15, 13 - 85 pts

Nacra 17 (20 boats)
1st: Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (ITA) 1, 3, 1, 2, (5), 1, (8), 3, 2, 2, 1, 2 - 23 pts
2nd: John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) (7), 5, 2, 1, 1, 2, 5, (10), 1, 5, 2, 4 - 35 pts
3rd: Paul Kohlhoff and Alicia Stuhlemmer (GER) 5, 1, 7, 3, 3, (11), 3, 2, 8, 3, 6, 6 - pts
4th: Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) 2, (11), 4, 4, 7, 8, 1, 5, 4, 6, 5, 8 - 54 pts

Related Articles

Grae Morris Takes on the iQFOiL Worlds
Shifty conditions on the first day in Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus, Denmark is serving up everything but predictability as the iQFOiL World Championships get under way, and Australian Olympic silver medallist Grae Morris is ready to assert his place at the top of the new Olympic cycle. Posted on 6 Jul
AST and B&G extend high-performing partnership
Continuing a collaboration that has been critical to the success of the team AST has announced the renewal of its long-term partnership with B&G, the world's leading sailing navigation and instrument specialists, continuing a collaboration that has been critical to the success of the team over the past eight years. Posted on 2 Jul
Bronze breakthrough for Liddell and Brown
Nacra 17 duo claim their first international podium at Kieler Woche Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown have claimed their first international podium in the Nacra 17 class, securing bronze at Kieler Woche, the third Sailing Grand Slam event of the season. Posted on 30 Jun
Aussies Break into Top 10 at Kieler Woche
Put to the test from light air to heavy breeze The first half of Kieler Woche has wrapped up in Germany, with Australian sailors putting themselves to the test in five Olympic classes. Kiel delivered a complete spectrum of conditions for athletes to sharpen their racing skills. Posted on 26 Jun
Australian Sailors ready to tackle Kiel Week
The third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam Australia's Olympic class sailors are set to tackle Kiel Week, the third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam, held in the north of Germany. Posted on 21 Jun
Top 10 finishes for Aussie crews in Europeans
Australia's 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailors have wrapped up a demanding week in Greece Australia's 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailors have wrapped up a demanding European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, with light winds, lengthy delays, and multiple general recalls pushing teams to their limits throughout the week. Posted on 9 Jun
Young Aussie squad ready to shine at Europeans
Australia's fast boat sailors are set for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans in Greece Australia's fast boat sailors are set to take on the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships this week in Thessaloniki, Greece. With up to 18 races scheduled over the next six days, it's set to be a high-intensity regatta. Posted on 2 Jun
Whitehead finish 9th at Formula Kite Europeans
A confident return to international competition in Urla, Türkiye Australia's Breiana Whitehead has made a confident return to international competition, finishing ninth overall at the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships in Urla, Türkiye. Posted on 20 May
Littlewood claims bronze in ILCA7 Worlds
It was a tale of two winds that decided the World Champions Zac Littlewood has claimed a bronze medal at the ILCA 7 World Championships in Qingdao, China, after an intense and unpredictable week of racing. Posted on 17 May
Breiana Whitehead set for Formula Kite Europeans
The Australian kitefoiler is back on the international stage this week Australian kitefoiler Breiana Whitehead is back on the international stage this week, as she lines up against top level competition at the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships in Urla, Türkiye from May 14 to 19. Posted on 14 May
Sea Sure 2025Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS FooterAllen Dynamic 40 Footer