Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Victory in the crowning final race of the world championship series has proved a bittersweet affair for Australian triathlon king Matt Hauser as he still ended up having to surrender his global crown in Spain.
In a thrilling finale to the season-long series on Sunday, Hauser won the day, pipping the championship leader, Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca, as only a photo-finish could separate the pair after they covered the course in Pontevedra in one hour 39 minutes 31 seconds.
The Maryborough maestro prevailed by just 0.08 seconds in one of the most memorable finishes to a global triathlon, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Vilaca taking away the Aussie’s world title as the season’s best after Hauser had been inconsistent and suffered crashes.
Hauser knew that, setting out, there was little to no chance of a successful defence because he would have to not only win but also beat the Portuguese by five places to prevail.
“I’m not back-to-back world champion, but I can hang my head high. I got the win today, which is what I wanted, and will take the momentum into next year and to LA 2028,” Hauser said.
It felt like a huge win after he jostled with Vilaca in a magnificent, occasionally physical, final duel.
“That’s just ridiculous, I was just telling myself I can’t lose this one, I can’t lose this one,” Hauser smiled, thinking of the amazing finish.
“I’ve been so up-and-down this year and so inconsistent, I just really wanted it out there today.
“I didn’t want to lose the sprint finish to Vasco, I haven’t lost all year to him, it was tooth-and-nail towards the end there. It was very tight.
“Credit to Vasco, what a champion. I mean, we got a bit pushy, shovey in the end – apologies to him, I gave him a bit of a bump on my way through to get to the line first – but you have to do these things to get the victory sometimes, to have that dog in you.”
“Just another great show together with Matt,” beamed Vilaca, content at losing the battle but winning the war. “What a dream!”
To cap a triathlon for the ages, Britain’s Olympic champion Alex Yee produced a dazzling run to fly through from 15th to third, only to fade as the big two took over.
Meanwhile, Lauren Parker became Australia’s most successful para triathlete in history, claiming her sixth world championship title after leading from the opening stages of the race and never being challenged.
Her sixth title surpassed compatriot Bill Chaffey’s previous benchmark of five crowns.
