Izac Carracher

Izac Carracher, who grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches, started out playing indoor volleyball, but his love of the surf was always going to draw him to the sand.

Izac showed promise as a tennis player as a teenager, but eventually gravitated to volleyball at Sydney Grammar School. He played in the Australian Volleyball League with the Sydney Warriors in 2016 and 2017, representing Australia at U17 and U19 level.

In 2019, he spent a year at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, where he started as an outside hitter with the USC Trojans.

Back in Australia to complete his education at the University of Sydney, Izac began competing on the beach, initially alongside Queenslander Marcus Ferguson.

In 2022, Izac, a 1.99m blocker, teamed up with another Queenslander, Mark Nicolaidis, and his career went to a new level. The pair burst onto the scene at the Gold Coast Beach Pro Tour Futures event, winning gold in their first international tournament as a pair with a 21-11, 21-16 victory over Canadians Jake MacNeil and Alex Russell in the final.

The win opened the door for Izac and Mark to head overseas to compete in Beach Pro Tour events, highlighted by a remarkable ninth place at the 2022 World Championships in Rome.

Izac’s passport now includes trips to France, Italy, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Qatar, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the US and the United Arab Emirates.

Izac, a bachelor of commerce/bachelor of laws student at Sydney University, said 2022 was a turning-point year for him and his good mate Mark.

“(It) was our first year on the Pro Tour and was for sure a breakout year for us,” he said.

“We went from having no points and playing the Coolangatta Futures at the start of the year, to playing World Champs and Elites.

“We learnt a lot about the Pro Tour, and more importantly about our game. We are always looking to improve our game technically, tactically and physically, but our team dynamic is our best strength.

“Bringing that energy and enjoyment to every event is when we are successful and that’s the goal for every game.”

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Izac and Mark faced teams from Qatar and Italy as well as a world number one ranked pair from Sweden. Both men were strong in their matches but were unable to record a win to advance from the group stage.