Ian Brown (sailor)

Ian Brown

Personal information
Born	4 April 1954 (1954-04-04) (age 64)
Medal record Sailing Representing  Australia Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 470 class

Ian Warwick Brown (born 4 April 1954) is an Australian competitive sailor and coach who won an Olympic bronze medal in 1976 in the 470 class. Brown was the youngest ever Australian Olympic sailing medalist until Elise Rechichi won gold in 2008. Brown was selected to represent Australia as a competitor in the 1980 Olympic Games for the Flying Dutchman Class. He represented Australia as a substitute competitor at the 1984 Olympic Games. He was an Olympic sailing coach at the 1988 Olympic Games for the Star and Flying Dutchman disciplines. Brown was a substitute competitor and coach at the 1992 Olympic Games. He worked with Great Britain, New Zealand, Bermuda, Bahamian and Australian Star Class Olympic representatives on the 1996 Olympic site just prior to Olympic racing (accredited and working with the Bermudan Olympic Sailing Team during the 1996 racing.)

Brown was a World senior Moth Class Champion in 1972/3 at 18 years old, having designed and built a "skiff" Moth. This was the first ever "skiff" design moth to win a World championship in the southern hemisphere, Napier, New Zealand. He backed this up with a second place at Stockholm, Sweden in 1974 and a 3rd place in Okinawa, Japan in 1975 just before beginning training in the 470 class. After four months training he won both the Australian title and Olympic 470 selection regattas to secure his first Olympian status. He was 5th overall in the 1977 World 505 Class championships, La Rochelle, France. Was 4th Overall in the 1982 Flying Dutchman Class World Championships, Geelong, Australia. Was 2nd in the 1994 Etchells Class World Championship, Brisbane, Australia. He raced many other classes of sailboats to State and National titles wins.

Ian best coaching: Each of three World 49er Championship wins by Chris Nicholson; For one of these years he also coached the Star Class World Championship win by Colin Beashel and David Giles in Slovenia; A personal highlight, while coaching Colin Beashel, was Colin's win and Ian's second place at the 1994 World Etchells Championships both using a full set of sails from Ian's sailloft and working collaboratively in training and warming up just before each world championship race . Ian also worked for Olympic medalist, Americas Cup tactician and Round the World Race winner John Kostecki for a 2nd place in 1996 USA Star Class Olympic Games selection regatta.

He coached numerous other Olympic classes to international podium placings.

In 1997 Ian was selected as the Yachting Australia Head Coach charged with the task to develop and implement an Australian Olympic Sailing development program that would win as many sailing Olympic Medals as possible at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Ian and his administrator reported to an independent board made up from senior executives from the Australian Olympic Committee, the Australian Sports Commission, the NSW institute of Sport and, Chief executive of Yachting Australia. Being a home Games this meant all Olympic Sailing disciplines would have a representative racing. His program, at that time, produced the best ever Australian medal haul for Sailing at an Olympic Games and also in the lead up international regattas across the world. He was responsible for inviting and achieving Ukrainian Victor Kovalenko's (The Medal Maker) move to Australia. Ian was also responsible for the first ever National Olympic Sailing Training Base at HMAS Penguin and the first ever full-time Olympic sailing coaching programs across the Olympic squad. Two of the prior lesser performing disciplines achieved Olympic Gold medals. His program was recongised by the Australian Institute of Sport for delivering a sailing sports science program that was the most improved of all Australian Olympic Sports. He formed a cooperative agreement subsequently signed off between the Danish and Australian Olympic Committees to share sailing resources when team either in Europe or in Australia. This agreement brought the potential Australian Sailing Olympians, for the first time ever, to practice living together, like at the Olympic Games, in one set of dormitories for a training period while in Denmark.

As a result of the success of Ian's program and its athletes Yachting Australia was awarded a position as one of the exclusive Olympic sports within the Australian Institute of Sport.

Personally Ian was awarded an International Olympic Committee Certificate of Merit for his efforts and very high level collaborations in regard of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Ian has spent considerable time racing with or assisting other younger sailing competitors such as Glenn Bourke (later becoming multiple world Laser Class champion); Malcolm Page (later becoming Australia's first ever sailing dual Olympic Gold medallist); offered his own crewing and sports boat sailing equipment to Nathan Outteridge (later became Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist plus Americas cup helmsman); offered his laser class equipment to Australian Olympic representative Sarah Blank for pre Games use in Europe.

Ian Brown also ran his own sailmaking and private coaching business between 1981 and 1995 before being pulled offshore to coach numerous already Olympic Medalists. He also is an honours qualified shipwright, has professional directorship diploma (Fellow level) with Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Project Management master's degree from the engineering faculty of Sydney University.

Ian is married with three children and three grandchildren.

Ian has been awarded numerous NSW Govt achievement medals.

He won his Olympic bronze medal in the 470 class at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The sailing was held at Kingston on Lake Ontario. His forwardhand and equipment owner was Ian Ruff.^[1]

References