Profile : Mathew Belcher

Mathew Belcher

Being a natural sportsman, it’s no accident that Queenslander Mat Belcher is where he is today – campaigning for the 2008 Olympic Games.

However, Mat’s first foray into sailing gave no indication of the talent to come – at seven, his parents towed him in a Sabot behind a cruiser. “I didn’t want to go, I screamed and carried on,” the 24 year old laughs.

But his competitive instincts soon became evident. At 10, Mat was arguably the youngest Australian to achieve a Black Belt in Taekwondo. He later played ice hockey, baseball and State level hockey. A golfer too, his handicap of nine suffered when sailing took over.

Early on, Mat skippered for older brother Daniel, winning the 420 World Championship in 2000. With the World title came the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Games.

“That’s when I first seriously thought about an Olympic campaign. It was great carrying that flag; it made the Olympics a reality for me. It’s one of the major highlights of my life.”

Both high achievers, the brothers won scholarships to Bond University on the Gold Coast – Mat for sports, an academic one for Daniel, who eventually opted to concentrate on a Law degree, once the Athens Olympic trials were over.

Deciding to mount an Olympic campaign towards 2008, Daniel, and Nick Behrens’ former skipper Mark Padgett, introduced Mat and Nick, recognising the combination would be ideal. “It’s an excellent one,” says Mat, “we get along really well.”

Victor Kovalenko (Yachting Australia Head Coach), has been of great help to the pair. “He told us we would have to invest all our time, money and energy, to get to the Games.”

Since late 2004, with a lot of hard work, Mat and Nick have lifted to a new level with some great rewards. In 2005, these included winning the Holland Regatta and top five placings at Lake Garda, Hyeres and Kiel and the year was capped off by a fourth place at the 470 Worlds - a best ever result for them.

“We will continue to train hard – the determination of wanting to achieve a new level is what drives us to get better.”

In 2006 the pair won the 470 Australian Championships at Sail Brisbane and the Sydney International Regatta, beating Australian Team mates and double world champions, Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page. Mat says: “Whichever crew gets to Beijing is in with a good chance for a medal. We both train hard, push each other – and that can only be good for Australia and the 470 team.”

As of February 2007 the pair are currently ranked number one in the world in the 470 class.

Mat is setting up for his future too, continuing a part-time Law/Commerce degree and having achieved a full REIQ real estate licence. He enjoys running a real estate agency called the Property People specialising in re-sales within Resorts.

Should he not get his Olympic dream in 2008? “I will keep going until I win a medal – I want to achieve that. If I keep working hard, I know I will get there.”

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