Brearey and Gillard at the World Championships

FRESH off his nail-biting win at the World Championships, the Reporter spoke to Clavering sailor Sam Brearey about the experience and his journey from Uttlesford to Australia.

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The 22-year-old seems to have an affinity for the Australian waters having won his first major championship Down Under and now adding the World Championships to his impressive list of honours.

“Australia has always been a good hunting ground for me, I think I am much more of a fair weather sailor than a cold weather sailor,” he joked.

“The conditions are always good and there’s something special about performing on the other side of the world – it almost strips out the local pressures.

“Plus, the Aussies always want to beat us so going head to head in Australia makes us the underdog which I like.”

Brearey and his partner Tom Gillard sailed like anything but underdogs in the competition and went into the final day four points ahead of their closest rivals…the Australians.

There was no nervousness for the British pair, just the simple understanding that a win would crown them World Champions.

“Going into the final day we didn’t have a huge lead but it meant that we had to throw it away for them to win - which we nearly did. The Australians won the first race of the day with us sailing our worst result which meant we were tied on points,” he said.

“With us first and second for the whole race changing positions several times, it was a tense affair, luckily our higher fitness levels and better boat handling saw us hold off their challenge to win with them a few meters behind.”

After the disappointment of finishing second on the competition last year, Brearey attributed the “amazing win” to the amount of preparation he and Gillard had done.

“We were so disappointed last year but to go away and put in so much effort to have it rewarded is fantastic. It makes all the blood and sweat worth it - an old cliché I know, but a true one.

“We have put in a huge amount of work both on and off the water since last year’s championships as the drive to be the best we can be really pushed us forward.

“We truly believe that fitness and strength is the worst reason not to succeed, and so we tried our hardest to remove it as a variable, we knew we were in the best shape possible and that gave us confidence on the water.

“It was incredible to round off a hard journey with the best possible result. It’s just incredible – I’m not sure it has fully sunk in yet. I can’t stop smiling!”

The win also means the British pair hold the World and European title at the same time – a difficult feat to achieve in the sport which Brearey admitted makes it all the more special.

While it was Brearey and Gillard who put in the physical work, he said he could not have achieved anything without his sponsors.

“A huge thank you must go to my sponsors Sport Essex, Fishers Green Sailing Club, Clavering Fitness Focus. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to go to Australia to challenge for the title.”