Victor Kovalenko is a huge figure in world sailing.
He has coached Australia's 470 men's and women's sailors since the Sydney Olympics and is now the team's Head Coach.
The sport has also allowed him to coach and get on first name terms with Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and King Felipe of Spain. 
Kovalenko was born in Ukraine in 1950 so he understands more than most about the break-up of empires.
Victor Kovalenko alongside King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain Source: Victor Kovalenko [supplied]
But although the British Empire is now only a historical entity, the failure to acknowledge the importance of sailing in the Commonwealth Games has left him dumbfounded.
The sport has never been included in the Comm Games, despite being a successful sport for many Commonwealth nations at the Olympic level.
And the fact next year's Commonwealth Games are on the Gold Coast, where Kovalenko and the team are currently in a training camp, hurts even more.
He says that sailing is central to the history of all Commonwealth countries and with Australia, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand, among others, all having strong teams it should be part of the Games.
"Why we cannot show to the world and to our Commonwealth countries how good we are is strange for me," Kovalenko said.
"It should happen. Why can't we?"
Kovalenko received the Order of Australia Medal in 2012 in one of the proudest moments of his life. But the ongoing turmoil in his native Ukraine remains an emotional subject for him.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan celebrate with "Medal Maker" coach Victor Kovalenko at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro Source: Victor Kovalenko [supplied]
"Everything bad that happens in Ukraine is close to me. I have part of my family there, and it's not fair" he told SBS World News.
Politics also cast a shadow on his competitive career when he missed the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics due to the Soviet Union's boycott.
He now calls Australia home and describes his time here as a "love affair".
And it's an affair that will leave a mighty legacy. The man known as "The Medal Maker" now has a book about his life with the same name.
But his legacy can be boiled down to just a few words.
"The legacy is winning - a winning team and a winning spirit," he said. "And the Australian sailing team is now one of the best in the world."
And Victor Kovalenko has done more than most to make that a reality. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be his last.
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