Come and help send Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page off in style

Come and help send Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page off in style as they farewell their Sydney friends at a lunch event on Thursday 8th March.

In December 2011 Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page won the gold medal at the Perth ISAF Sailing World Championships in the 470 class. Closely following that the world championship team won gold again in January 2012 in Miami. Soon they will be heading to Europe for further competitions and some solid training before the main event, the London Olympics.

Page is the veteran in the 470 Class. Throughout his early 16-foot skiff, 505 and 18-foot skiff sailing career, he helmed. Committing to an Olympic dream meant zeroing in on the 470, taking advantage of his height and build and moving to the bow of the boat. “It took a couple of years to become a decent crew and another couple of years to become a good crew,” reflects Page.

Page and his former skipper, Nathan Wilmot, cut their teeth in the 470 Class together for over a decade. Together they won three 470 World Championships and one ISAF World Sailing Games, two silver medals and one bronze medal at the 470 World Championships, two 470 European Championships, nine Australian 470 National Championships, one Australian Yachtsman of the Year, three Australian Sports Institute Team of the Year and numerous other regional, national and world titles.

Mathew Belcher won the 420 World Championship in 2000. Australia’s promising young athlete was given the distinction of carrying the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. At that point, he decided to become an Olympian. Coach Victor Kovalenko invited him onto the Australian 470 sailing squad where he became the tuning partner for Wilmot and Page.

As a helmsman, Belcher rose to the #1 ISAF ranking in 2007. It was a battle of character, personality and intellect and Belcher and his partner put the Australian veterans to the test, but came up short when Wilmot and Page won the 2007 470 World Championship and the right to represent Australia at the 2007 Olympic Test event. Wilmot and Page then went on to win the Olympic Test Event and clearly demonstrated their medal potential. Dejected, Belcher took time off from sailing and went to university full-time. As a video boat driver at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, he had an upfront view of his compatriots win both the Women’s and the Men’s 470 Olympic gold medals. After almost a decade in the pursuit of the Olympic dream, Belcher realized he still had unfinished business and decided to campaign for 2012.

Book now for the Belcher and Page farewell event.

Thursday 8th March, 12:30pm

Mumu Grill

70 Alexander Street, Crows News NSW

$90 inc 3 course lunch and drinks.

Bookings essential 02 9460 6877