Many will state of the exhilaration they feel when they stand on the Olympic podium. It is a place that millions have dreamt of being on but few achieve that dream.

Even Mat Belcher from Australia had the experience and the joy was sweetened as he shared the moment with his wife. Mat Belcher sailed and won gold with his team mate Malcolm Page in the Men’s 470 as part of the London 2012 Olympics while his wife achieved gold by representing Germany in the Women’s category in the same year.

The journey that Mat recounts started in Sydney 2000 when he carried the flag for the International Olympic Committee as it signified the end of the Olympiad. He paired up with Page eight years later and married Friederike a year later as they both shared the journey to the Olympics.

He told Plain Sailing that he obtained his inspiration from Mal who won gold in Beijing with Nathan Wilmot. Belcher felt that after that, he has been pursuing that feeling and to gain that experience on the podium. He said that it was a special experience winning the game with his best friend and being at the Olympics with his wife.

As they had headed into the 2012 Olympic Games in London both Page and Belcher had been considered hot favorites as they have won three world titles consecutively as well as had seven regatta victories one after the other. However, the Olympic races were a different ball game. Initially the Great Britain team had an advantage.

There were series of races and finally it was Australia against Great Britain. At the end Belcher felt it was the best race ever they had, finally winning the gold medal. After all, you are never prepared for the kind of challenge you would face at the Olympics.