Hauser hellbent on Olympic success
MATT Hauser has a taste for gold and he wants more.
The 20-year-old Gold Coaster has a mixed team relay gold to his name following his success at his Commonwealth Games debut that also included a fourth in the individual race.
Hauser edged out Olympians Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie to earn a spot in the Aus- tralian team for the Games and with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just two years away, he has no intentions of slowing his place.
“Tokyo is the next step,” Hauser said.
“To see a strong contingent finally come back to triathlon in Australia after a bit of a down period is really positive and these games reflect how the pathways have formed over the last six years.”
The 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run sprint format and Royle and Bailie’s problems with injury over the past 12 months played into the hands of Hauser and fellow young gun Luke Willian, 21, who finished a promising eighth in the individual race at the Games.
The next two years are shaping to be an intriguing battle for positions by the four men and 23-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jake Birtwhistle.
The group are likely to be competing for two or three positions available to Australia at the Tokyo Olympics.
Royle, 28, and Bailie, 27, appear free of injury and working back to their best and the fact Tokyo will feature a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run Olympic distance event will play into the hands of the older triathletes who have extensive experience racing further.
Hauser has already shifted his focus to Tokyo and will make his Olympic distance debut at ITU Yokohama on May 13.