Will Ryan experienced sailing when only two days old when he watched the 1988 Sydney to Hobart race in his grandfather's boat with his family.

In his early years he was inspired by his grandfather and sailed in an old Sabot dinghy on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.

[1] Two years later, Ryan, together with teammate Byron White, came second at the 2008 World Championships in the 29er class, finishing after fellow Australians Steven Thomas and Jasper Warren, and ahead of British team Max Richardson and Alex Groves who took the bronze.

[3] Ryan represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[3] Ryan and Belcher returned for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, where they won the gold medal in the 470 class.