The whole of Freo, but Fremantle Sailing Club in particular, have been basking in Matt Wearn’s glory in winning Gold at the recent 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the Men’s Laser Class.
Matt showed strong resilience fighting back to finish inside the top four in six races, after facing a challenging start in the light and variable conditions, moving him to first overall.
After he completed Race 10, and finished with a 22‐point lead against his closest rival, he was assured of a Gold Medal in the final Medal Race, which he sailed with aplomb.
Here’s Matt in action.
“The world is going to see what a superstar Matt Wearn is today” said Australian Sailing Performance Director, Ian Murray said before the Medal Race.
Matt started his sailing journey at the Fremantle Sailing Club in 2005 when he transitioned out of the Optimist into the Laser Youth Class. At the time, Headcoach Arthur Brett structured a high‐performance Laser training program in which Matt was very enthusiastic and continued to thrive.
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Head WAIS coach of Sailing, Belinda Stowell Brett recalls Matt’s dedication to training and his initiative to continually learn and ask questions whenever he could. “Matt was the kind of sailor you would want to work with as a coach, someone who truly is passionate about the sport and continual improvement”.
An integral part of Matt’s career was competing in the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Fremantle. At 15 years old he was given an opportunity to compete in his home territory as part of his involvement with the ‘Emerging Nations Program’. Matt received a WAIS scholarship in 2010, where he developed and formed strong partnerships instrumental to his career.
Congrats Matt. What an outstanding achievement!
Welcome home!
