Tokyo Olympics sailing: Matt Wearn and fiance Emma Plasschaert share golden dream

He’s an Aussie gold medal hope but Matt Wearn will be excused for barracking for another country at the Olympics.

MATT Wearn beat a reigning Olympic champion to get his ticket to Tokyo so it’s no surprise big things are expected of him.

The former Aussie rules gun, who was looking at a professional career before being bitten by the sailing bug, is aiming to extend Australia’s extraordinary run of success in the single-handed Laser class in Tokyo.

Central Coast sailor Tom Slingsby won Laser gold at the London Olympic with Sydney’s Tom Burton following suit four years later in Rio. Wearn’s coach Michael Blackburn won bronze at the Sydney Olympics.

Matt Wearn is competing at his first Olympics in Tokyo and among the favourites for a gold medal. Pic: Michael Klein

Now Perth’s Wearn is on a quest to extend the Australian domination in the waters off Enoshima, beginning on Sunday.

And by his side — when social distancing allows — will be fiancee and 2018 world Laser radial champion, Belgian Emma Plasschaert.

The pair has been together for seven years.

“My lovely fiancee Emma and I have been campaigning a long time and it means I’m not ever homesick and, performance-wise, we bounce off each other a lot as well,’’ Wearn said.

“If one of us has a bad week, we help each other out but we make sure we don’t have a negative affect on each other.’’

Wearn, who won the Laser European title in a show of power in 2018, said he is grateful Australian selectors put their faith in him over a proven performer such as Rio champion Burton.

“It does fill me with a lot of confidence,” Wearn, 25, said. “The selection in some way is the hardest thing.”

The Laser is a very simple boat in which technique and sailor skill are paramount.

Wearn will contest 10 races, with the top 10 on the points score advancing to the double-point-scoring medal race on August 1. Along with Wearn, Australia has two other sailing medal contenders.

The 470 team of Mat Belcher and Will Ryan and the Nacra 17 combo of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin won silver medals in Rio and results indicate they are on track to be in the medal mix again.

In the Covid-interrupted lead-up to the Games, Australia and New Zealand sailors crisscrossed the ditch to act as sparring partners, to make up for the absence of international competition.