Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Matt Hauser is the poster child for Australian triathlon’s campaign to regain its international clout ahead of the Brisbane Olympics.
The opening of a high performance headquarters on the Gold Coast is being hailed as a major step on the long road back.
Hauser became the first Australian to win a men’s Olympic-distance world title for 20 years last October, with a flawless performance in the Wollongong final.
The two-time Olympian has followed with a string of impressive results this year, two years out from the Los Angeles Games.
His rise to power comes as AusTriathlon, the national governing body, works to rebuild.
“To have a centralised program, which hasn’t been the case for a number of years … is a really positive step forward,” Hauser told AAP.
“I know I would have loved having a program and a hub like this when I moved to the Gold Coast 10 years ago.
“In my biased opinion, it’s the best place on earth to train for triathlon.”
The hub, at the Miami Aquatic Centre, will be the base for AusTriathlon’s high-performance programs in the build up to the Brisbane Olympics.
One of the dignitaries at Tuesday’s opening was Bill Davoren, now the Australian Insititute of Sport’s director of coach development.
He was Australian triathlon’s high performance boss when Emma Snowsill won gold and Emma Moffatt bronze at the 2008 Olympics.
Australia’s last Olympic medal was bronze to Erin Densham in 2012. Hauser finished a breakthrough seventh in the men’s race at the Paris Games in 2024.
“Triathlon has taken significant steps in the last four years and gained significant confidence from the AIS,” Davoren said at the launch.
“We were the best country in the world and I think we are on the way to heading back.”
While the elite women remain a work in progress, Hauser said the sport in Australia was heading in the right direction.
“You can feel the energy building,” he said. “Everyone is excited for what’s to come.”
Hauser added his continued strong form this season was confirmation he was on target for LA.
“It’s just really pleasing for me and my team that I wasn’t quite a one-hit wonder,” he said.
“When the target is on my back and there’s an expectation, it’s almost harder to keep executing at that top level.
“It’s a matter of confirmation that we’re doing the right things, we’re on the right track … to back ourselves.”
Hauser will be 34 in 2032 and he has said many times that he wants Brisbane to be his swansong.
“It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up,” he said.
“I could really see that as the cherry on top to my career – I’d happily retire after that, if I get there.”
