Born on the Gold Coast in 1982, Mathew Belcher was introduced to sailing at the young age of seven. Following the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Mathew set himself the goal of becoming an Australian Olympic representative and winning an Olympic gold medal.
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Since then, Mathew has achieved this goal twice, most recently winning Gold in the 470 class at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics alongside Will Ryan. This victory makes Mathew the most successful Olympic Sailor in Australian History and earned him the honour of bearing the Australian flag at the closing ceremony.
Mathew first achieved his goal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where together with Malcolm Page he won gold in the 470 class.
On the way to winning the Olympic Championships, Matthew won three consecutive world 470 sailing championships (2010, 2011, 2012). With crewmember Will Ryan he has defended the world 470 championship titles in 2013, 2014, 2015, and as recently as 2017.
Mathew was determined to defend his first Olympic gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He became International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Sailor of the Year 2014, after being a finalist on 3 previous occasions in 2010, 2012 and 2013. He was able, along with Will, to achieve a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Mathew is a member of the Australian Institute of Sport Athletes’ Commission, International Olympic Class 470 Management Committee, and a member of Yachting Australia’s Athletes Commission.
