Patience and poise underpinned the victory for 28-year-old Matt, after winds played havoc with scheduling in Marseille.

Going into the final race, Matt had done enough through the competition to claim no worse than silver, with only Cypriot sailor Pavlos Kontides able to catch him.

With the final already postponed by a day, racing got underway on the waters off Marseille. Matt was comfortable and looking good for gold, before race organisers decided to abandon the event just moments from the finish. 

A “pretty stressed and frustrated” Matt then had to regather himself forty minutes later, and with racing starting again in light winds, he dominated in a clinical performance, crossing the line first with a total score of 40 points.

His victory made the long wait worth it.

It also means Australia has cemented itself as the world's premier nation in the class having won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s dinghy (Laser) sailing.

The incredible run of Aussie success in the race started with Tom Slingsby (London 2012), followed by Tom Burton (Rio 2016) and Matt (Tokyo 2020).

“I’ve been dreaming about going back to back, it's just phenomenal,” Matt said.

“The fact that no one else has done it before probably shows how special it is. And for me to be the first person to do that, it really hits home."

The gold medal is even more remarkable given Matt has suffered long covid after the Tokyo Games; something that has hampered his everyday life and training for more than a year.

“We just kept ticking boxes,” he said.

“We got a great team and we had a great squad and we were confident that if we kept doing what we had been doing since 2008, that we would be okay. 

“So it was just a matter of executing this week and, and that's what we did."

Matt's Paris campaign is a stark contrast to Tokyo were he finished 17th and 28th after his opening two races before surging back to win gold.

The sailor had those two numbers, 17 and 28, tattooed onto his forearm as a daily reminder that no matter how bad things are, you can can turn them around for tomorrow.

The dual Olympian becomes just the third Australian to win multiple sailing gold medals, after Mat Belcher (2012 and 2020) and Malcolm Page (2008 and 2012).