HAUSER HAPPY TO TRI THIS AT ‘HOME’
Triathlete Matt Hauser has found a home on the Gold Coast after making the move from Hervey Bay. As Dwayne Grant reports, it’s a move that has also delivered him a shot at Commonwealth Games glory.
IF ALL GOES WELL THERE, I’LL THEN TRY TO SIMULATE THAT BY LIVING IN AN (ALTITUDE) TENT WHILE I’M BACK ON THE GOLD COAST IN THE LEAD-UP TO THE GAMES MATT HAUSER
ONLY two years ago Matt Hauser was a wide-eyed teenager heading to the Gold Coast for university.
Now he’s a wide-eyed teenager heading to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
“It’s been a lot to take in this past year,” the 19-year-old business student said of being selected to represent Australia in triathlon on what will be the first day of competition on April 5.
“At the start of last year I was thinking (qualifying for) the Commonwealth Games would be a bit of a stretch.
“I thought I might be two to three years from making a major Games team so was focusing on the Tokyo Olympics (in 2020). Then, as the year progressed, results came my way and the ball started to roll in my court and it suddenly became more of a reality.”
So much of a reality that instead of living at the Mermaid Waters pad he normally shares with a couple of fellow triathletes, Hauser finds himself preparing for the biggest race of his life by completing a high-altitude training camp ... in Canberra.
“We basically spend three weeks living (in an environment) set at the equivalent
of 3000m of altitude,” he explained of the concept.
“The idea is to live at altitude 14 hours a day and then train in normal conditions to hopefully gain improvements.
“If all goes well there, I’ll then try to simulate that by living in an (altitude) tent while I’m back on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to the Games.”
Such hi-tech training would have been the stuff of Hauser’s dreams when he was a youngster growing up in Hervey Bay. A talented triathlete from an early age, he had made regular trips to Brisbane and the Gold Coast for training camps but when it came time for a permanent move, he didn’t think twice.
“I chose the Gold Coast because I think I fit a lot more into the city and this squad (at the AIS National Performance at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park),” Hauser said.
“Basing myself where the Games are being held has also been an advantage.
“Just training on the Gold Coast, I continually remind myself the competition is coming up and that pushes me further to excel and get more ready for what lies ahead.”
Hauser’s date with destiny at the Broadwater on Thursday, April 5, will unfold soon after two milestone events — his 20th birthday on April 3 and the Games opening ceremony the following night.
“The ceremony will be off the cards for me because there will be a lot of standing around and queuing,” he said.
“But a bonus of competing first up is I get to relax, enjoy the rest of the week and see the other Aussies go at it.
“My job will be done.”