Rhiannan's Story
When asked how it was determined that skipper Brin Liddell would steer their Nacra 17 multi-hull while she crews, Rhiannan Brown replies succinctly.
"He was already in it," she explained.
But the pair have an easy familiarity that comes from years of sailing together and being friends since they were eight.
"We more work together as a team, both put in input and we work it out together, Rhiannan said. "We never really fight."
Rhiannan has been messing about in boats on Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle, since she was five, when her mum showed her the ropes.
She teamed up with Brin in 2019 and finished 14th at the Nacra 15 World Championships in France before winning the Australian Nacra 15 Nationals at Sorrento in Victoria.
The pair transitioned to Nacra 17, the Olympic two-person multi-hull, in 2020 and began competing on the international circuit in 2022, racing in the Nacra 17 Europeans in Aarhus, Denmark, and the Nacra 17 World Championships in Nova Soctia, Canada, placing 20th and 19th respectively. They also finished third at the 2023 Nacra 17 Junior Worlds.
They finished 2023 by winning their class at the Sail Sydney regatta, securing a quota place for the Paris Olympics.
At the prestigious 2024 Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma, Spain - a crucial Olympic lead - up event - Brin and Rhiannan showed strong form before missing out on the medal race by just one point.
