Born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1954, Willoughby first began to show promise as a rower whilst at St Mark's College at the University of Adelaide, where he was a boat captain in the Adelaide University Boat Club. Willoughby was first selected to represent South Australia in the 1975 senior men's eight who contested the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta. He made a total of nine King's Cup appearances for South Australia between 1975 and 1984. That was a golden period for South Australian heavyweight men's rowing and their eights won the title in 1981, 1982 and 1983; and placed second in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1984. In 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983 in Adelaide University colours he contested the national coxed or coxless four titles at the Australian Rowing Championships. In 1980, 1982 & 1983 he also raced for the coxless pair title and he won that national championship in 1982 and 1983.
International representative rowing
Willoughby made his first Australian representation in the Australian men's eight selected to contest the 1980 Moscow Olympics. That crew finished with an overall fifth placing. He was selected in 1981 to a coxed four with Graham Jones, Jim Battersby and John Bentley who raced at the 1981 World Rowing Championships in Munich to a sixth placing. In 1982 that same four with Battersby changed out for Bruce Keynes was selected to contest the 1982 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne. They missed the A final and placed seventh overall. In 1983 Willoughby secured the six seat of the Australian eight selected within a limited squad sent to the 1983 World Rowing Championships in Duisburg Germany. The eight performed well in lead up regattas at Vichy, Ratzeburg and Nottingham. In the final at the World Championships the Australian crew drew a bad lane and lost the benefit of the tail breeze however they raced a strong second 1000m and finished in third place for a bronze medal. The Australian eight selected for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was built around the national champion Mosman Rowing Club coxed four of Jim Battersby, Craig Muller and Steve Evans. Willougby was selected in the four seat and made his second Olympics in Los Angeles. The Australian eight finished third in the final with a time of 5:43.40 winning bronze behind Canada and the USA.
Yachtsman
Subsequent to his win in Los Angeles, Willoughby was a crew member of the Australian yacht Kookaburra III, which attempted to defend the America's Cup in 1987, but was defeated by the American yacht Stars & Stripes. He remained in Perth following the America's Cup, and became president of the WA Olympic Council and of the Olympians Club of WA, representing Western Australia to the Australian Olympic Committee.
