'This kid has got it'. Those are the words London 2012 Laser gold medallist and triple World Champion Tom Slingsby remembers his coach saying, when he first saw newly crowned Olympic champion Matt Wearn race over a decade ago.

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Wearn was just 14 years old at the time but there was something about the Mandurah teenager that caught the eye of legendary coach Arthur Brett. And Slingsby agreed; one day that kid would become an Olympic champion.

"Today is that day," Slingsby announced to the world after the now 25-year-old Wearn earned what was essentially a victory lap of the Tokyo Games course on Enoshima Harbour.  

The gold medal is the third straight for Australia in Laser sailing over the past three Olympics, and among those applauding the Western Australian, were the sailors who've been there before.

Slingsby, who won the title in 2012, and Tom Burton who claimed the mantle at Rio 2016, were among the first to congratulate the Australian who they say "came home with the turbos on". Wearn had a lacklustre first day in the Tokyo regatta with a 17th and 28th before over the next six races he had two 1sts, three 2nds and a fourth – to dominate the field.

Burton, who's been tracking every moment of the competition, said the opportunity to train with the best Laser sailors in the world over the past eight years helped set Wearn up for his golden moment.

"Matt went there to win, not to make up the numbers – what he's done is pretty impressive," he said, sharing the high-performance mind-set of the Australian Laser team.

"Thinking about my own experience, I had a big advantage being able to compete against someone who was at their peak in the world being Tom Slingsby and Matt obviously got a fair bit of benefit being able to train against me when I was at my peak of performance as well.

"It's one of those things watching someone behind you get closer and closer and closer every day, to the point where you are equals, and then there are conditions where they're just better than you.

"Matt is on when he is on. He lit everyone up in Tokyo; he was nearly untouchable."

Olympic sailing legend Iain Murray acknowledged another golden chapter in Laser history - one that started in the late 1980s with three-time world champion Glenn Bourke.

He noted Australia's dominance comes in what is the most popular boat class in the world and on a craft, which unlike other classes, is provided by the race organisers to ensure no equipment advantage.

"To come to the Olympics and have a bad first day, then dominate the regatta as Matt has done and to finish without needing to compete in the last race says it all – this is a superb dominance performance," Murray said.

"There have been many world champions, there have now been many Olympic champions, the trade has been a long-established line of how to sail a Laser well in Australia.

"The flow of skills and tactics and how to sail these boats has been kept within Australia and kept at the extreme highest level over the whole term.

"For young kids coming up there has been this desire to come to the group, to learn the trade."

There is one common denominator in all three victories: Australian sailing technical director and coach extraordinaire Michael Blackburn. Blackburn, known as a technical and mindset genius of the sport, was a bronze medallist in the Laser at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He also won the 2006 World Championships before turning his hand to coaching.

Unable to travel due to border closures, Blackburn took an innovative approach to preparing his charge for Tokyo; one of those being to simulate an exercise where Wearn finished fourth at the Olympics and to identify what was his downfall.

In a rare twist, not only did this feedback come from the coach, but from squad members who had an intimate insight to his strengths and weaknesses as a yachtsman. The outcome was a 20-30 per cent improvement in his light wind sailing skills, adding to his finesse in strong conditions, which was integral to a triumphant Tokyo campaign.

"It is a thrill to get it done early, it's been a goal of mine to have someone win the regatta before the medal race, because the medal race can be a bit iffy sometimes," Blackburn said.

"To get done in such good style and quite unexpectedly was quite a thrill."

This is the approach that has the sailing community adamant today's victory is a team effort and the nation's dominance in the class comes down to the guidance from Blackburn and a high-performing squad.

"Today is also about the guy who the cameras won't see when Matt collects his gold medal," Slingsby said of the champion coach.

"A legend of Australian sport that most of the public don't know about. Blackers has now coached three back-to-back Olympic champions and has created a legacy in Australian sailing and the Laser class in general.

"His passion, technical and mental skills make him one of the best coaches I have ever seen, hands down."

So today, as an Australia Laser sailor stands on top of the podium for the third straight Olympic Games, and continues a rich legacy in the sport, we salute, the kid that's got it, the coach who guided his way, and the champions who came before him.

Story courtesy of the Australian Olympic Committee