Matt Hauser aims for Olympic glory after historic triathlon world championship

Matt Hauser has propelled Australia back to the pinnacle of world triathlon, securing a sensational victory on home soil at Wollongong. This win ended a 15-year title drought for Australian men in the sport.

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It's a bit of a pinch me moment, honestly. It just feels quite surreal to now be at the top of my game and I keep kind of pinching myself, knowing that this won't last forever, so I really need to take a step back and realise that I'm one of the best, if not the best in the world at the moment in my sport, and I need to try and capitalise on that and make sure the opportunities that I have I made the most of.

Despite this significant achievement, Hauser's sights are firmly set on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, viewing it as the ultimate race. He currently sits third in the World Triathlon Championship Series standings, having won all three of his previous events in Yokohama, Hamburg, and London.

Hauser described his current success as a "pinch me moment," acknowledging the surreal feeling of being at the top of his game. He emphasized the need to capitalize on these opportunities, recognizing that this peak performance may not last forever. "I keep kind of pinching myself, knowing that this won't last forever, so I really need to take a step back and realise that I'm one of the best, if not the best in the world at the moment in my sport," he told ABC Sport.

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It doesn't feel like a big sudden jump though, to be honest. It feels like a lot of smaller goals and processes have added up to accumulate to this world champion persona, I guess.

His journey to the top is not a sudden leap but a culmination of years of dedicated work and smaller goals. "It feels like a lot of smaller goals and processes have added up to accumulate to this world champion persona, I guess," Hauser explained. He attributes his success to the unwavering support he has received, particularly from his coach Dan Atkins, with whom he has worked for a decade. The daily performance environment developed on the Gold Coast has been crucial to his development.

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For me to be in this position now is just a credit to the support I've had around me, to Dan Atkins, who I've been coached under for 10 years now. The relationship that we've kind of developed and the systems we've put in place to create daily performance environments right here on the Gold Coast has been super important.

Hauser's achievements are also inspiring the next generation of Australian triathletes. Rising star Aspen Anderson, 19, sees Hauser as paving the way, stating, "Matt's definitely led the way in that aspect. And I think it's really cool to see him paving the way for some of us. It's really exciting. You can kind of look at them and say, well, yeah, if they can do it, then I can do it too."

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Matt's definitely led the way in that aspect. And I think it's really cool to see him paving the way for some of us. It's really exciting. You can kind of look at them and say, well, yeah, if they can do it, then I can do it too.