MISPLACING MEDALS? THAT’S GOLD
Mat’s perseverance pays off with Olympic glory
HIS GOLD MEDALS, HE LEAVES THEM AT THE SOUTHPORT YACHT CLUB AND HE RINGS ME AND APOLOGISES WHEN HE HAS TO TAKE THEM OUT
SOUTHPORT’S BRETT JAMES
MAT Belcher: sailing champion, humble star, occasionally forgetful with gold medals.
The 37-year-old on Thursday night claimed the Gold Coast Sports Star of the Year award, joining a long list of champions on the honour board.
And while the Olympic champion was too ill to accept the award on the night, it did at least provide Southport Yacht Club general manager Brett James the perfect opportunity to cheekily remind others just how modest Belcher remains.
“You’ll see the kids out there in the little bathtubs and then you’ll see Mat out there having fun and bumping into them,” James said on stage while accepting the award at Southport Sharks.
“His gold medals, he leaves them at the Southport Yacht Club and he rings me and apologises when he has to take them out because he has to go to a function.
“We had a corporate golf day one year and we asked him to come out and play golf with his medals.
“He went home and we stayed at the bar and he called me an hour later to say ‘I’ve left my gold medals at the golf club – can you go and find them?’.
“That’s the sort of character he is.”
Beyond the awards – and teasing from clubmates – also lies a passionate Gold Coaster.
“He’s devastated he’s not here (but) we’ll take a photo and send it to him,” James said.
“He’s not only an ambassador for Southport Yacht Club but it’s sailing, it’s sport and it’s the Gold Coast.
“He just loves this place.”