Will Ryan (sailor)

William Ryan OAM (born 23 December 1988) is an Australian sailor and an Olympic champion and five time World champion in the men's 470 event with Mathew Belcher.

Will Ryan
OAM
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Ryan
NationalityAustralian
Born23 December 1988 (1988-12-23) (age 34)
Lake Macquarie, New South Wales
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo 470
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de Janeiro 470
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 La Rochelle470
Gold medal – first place 2014 Santander470
Gold medal – first place 2015 Haifa470
Gold medal – first place 2017 Thessaloniki470
Gold medal – first place 2019 Enoshima470
Bronze medal – third place 2016 San Isidro470

Sailing career

Will Ryan experienced sailing when only two days old when he watched the 1988 Sydney to Hobart race in his grandfather's boat with his family. In his early years he was inspired by his grandfather and sailed in an old Sabot dinghy on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. At the age of 11, Ryan competed in his first race with the Toronto Amateur Sailing Club.

Ryan competed in the Laser Radial class at the 2006 Youth Sailing World Championships.[1] Two years later, Ryan, together with teammate Byron White, came second at the 2008 World Championships in the 29er class, finishing after fellow Australians Steven Thomas and Jasper Warren, and ahead of British team Max Richardson and Alex Groves who took the bronze.

In late 2012, Ryan teamed up with World champion Mathew Belcher, and less than a year later they the two won their first 470 World Championship at the 2013 event in La Rochelle.[2] The team then continued to win the following two editions.[3]

Ryan represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4] He and teammate Mathew Belcher won the silver medal in the 470 class.[5] In the following years, Belcher and Ryan also won the 2017 and 2019 470 World Championships.[3]

Ryan and Belcher returned for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, where they won the gold medal in the 470 class.[6]

Personal life

Ryan's sister is Jaime Ryan who also competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she sailed in the women's 49er FX event.[7]

Career highlights
World Championships
2008 – Sorrento, 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd, 29er (with Byron White)[8][9]
Olympic Games
2016 – Rio de Janeiro, 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd, 470 (with Mathew Belcher)
2020 – Tokyo, 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st, 470 (with Mathew Belcher)

Recognition

References
  1. "Will Ryan". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. "Mathew Belcher and crewmate Will Ryan claim La Rochelle world sailing title". www.couriermail.com.au. 11 August 2013.
  3. "470sailing".
  4. "Will Ryan – athlete profile". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  5. "Rio 2016: 470 Men – Standings". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  6. "Australian duo Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan win gold in men's 470 sailing at Tokyo Olympics". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  8. "29er World Championships".
  9. "Gold And Silver To Australia At 29er Worlds". Archived from the original on 2 December 2008.
  10. "Barty Party continues at the AIS Awards". Sport Australia. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. "Belcher, Ryan and Darmanin create history at Australian Sailing Awards". Australian Sailing. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  12. "Australia Day Honours List" (PDF). The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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