A double world champion at 19, Australia’s Matt Hauser may have a sizeable medal collection already, but he still has many years in which to cram individual and collective success. Here's his triathlon journey so far...
Who is Matthew Hauser?
Physically imposing and with a level racing head on his shoulders, Matt Hauser made a significant impression on the triathlon scene early in his career.
Boasting an exemplary record as a junior – with victories in Japan and Canada as well as across his native Australia – he won his first elite World Cup race in the spring of 2017, just a month after his 19th birthday.
It was far from his greatest success of that season. At the mixed relay world championships in Hamburg, Hauser won gold as part of the Australian quartet, following up that victory two months later by scooping the world junior crown in Rotterdam.
A world champion twice over before he’d notched up two decades on the planet.
Further success was soon to follow. At the Commonwealth Games of 2018, held in Hauser’s home state of Queensland, he narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s race, but scooped gold with that all-conquering mixed relay squad.
His progress in the ITU World Triathlon Series wasn’t quite as instant and it wouldn’t be until June 2019 that he recorded his first top-10 finish, coming seventh in Montreal.
Hauser's first Olympic adventure was far from glorious, coming home a disappointing 24th in the men’s race in Tokyo.
The mixed relay was always going to be his better shot at winning a medal, but the experienced and race-savvy Australian team – despite also including seasoned athletes like Ashleigh Gentle and Jacob Birtwhistle – could do no better than finish ninth, a full two minutes behind the golden British quartet.
This season, Hauser has extinguished that Tokyo torment to start to show his potential on the WTS circuit. A fourth place in Yokohama was followed by a second in Hamburg; the following day, he added another medal to his collection – a silver in the mixed relay world champs.
Then came two bronzes at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. But the Aussie wasn’t done yet, bagging an impressive Super League victory in Munich.
The following year saw the popular Aussie finally take that maiden World Triathlon win in Montreal, proving what a powerful and difficult-to-beat competitor he is.
How old is Matt Hauser?
Matt Hauser was born on April 3 1998, making him 25 years old.
Matt Hauser’s career highlights
May 2017: Hauser breaks the tape in China
Hauser’s first significant senior win comes in the ITU World Cup race in Chengdu in China, outsprinting Azerbaijan’s Rostislav Pevtsov. It proves that Hauser can hold his nerve under pressure; the first four athletes home are separated by just six seconds.
July 2017: A first world title for the Queenslander
Despite still only being 19, Hauser lands an elite world title, part of the Australian mixed relay quartet that take the crown in Hamburg that also includes Charlotte McShane, Ashleigh Gentle and Jacob Birtwhistle.
September 2017: A coronation for his second world crown
Hauser signs off a tremendous breakthrough year by securing a second world title in two months, this time under his own steam. In Rotterdam, he becomes junior world champion having established the cushion of a 30-second lead over the rest of the field. Such a formidable opponent when his nose is in front, the Aussie was never going to relinquish that advantage.
April 2018: Commonwealth gold in his backyard
Held on his home turf of Queensland, Hauser goes into the Commonwealth Games with high hopes. He misses out on a medal by an infuriating two seconds in the men’s elite race, but two days later wins gold as part of the mixed relay squad alongside Gentle, Birtwhistle and Gillian Backhouse.
June 2019: A maiden ITU top-10 finish
Hauser puts in a threshold-crossing performance in Montreal, his seventh place marking his first top 10 in a World Triathlon Series race, with his higher-ranked compatriot Birtwhistle and five-time world champ Javier Gomez among his scalps. He follows this up with an 11th in Edmonton a month later.
July 2021: Hauser makes his Olympic debut
After a succession of wins in the Oceania championships, at the rearranged Tokyo Games, Hauser disappoints himself by only finishing 24th. Even more surprising is the ninth place of their experienced mixed relay squad. It's the second successive Olympics in which Australia’s triathletes have failed to win a single medal.
August 2021: A third world champs medal
Still eligible to race at U23 level, Hauser finds some compensation for those underwhelming Olympic performances by taking bronze at the U23 world champs in Edmonton.
July 2022: A first invitation onto a WTS podium
Having broken into the top five of a WTS race for the first time in Yokohama two months earlier, Hauser experiences the view from a WTS podium for the first time when he finishes a close second behind New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde in Hamburg.
The next day, the city hosts the mixed relay world championships, with the Australian foursome banishing their Olympic demons by taking silver.
July 2022: Double bronze in Birmingham
Later that same month, Hauser enjoys a double medal haul, taking bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in both the men’s race and the mixed relay. In the men’s race, he misses out on silver by just three seconds, again to his great rival Wilde.
September 2022: Super League victory in Bavaria
After finishing second in the Super League series race in London the previous week – when, as a victim of mistaken identity, he was incorrectly issued with a time penalty – Hauser converts his sharp form into a maiden Super League victory in Munich.
This time, the powerfully built Aussie is able to chase down and overhaul the Olympic silver medallist Wilde. Fourth in Toulouse and a final win in Saudi Arabia seal silver overall for Hauser.
November 2022: Top 10 in the world
Finishes fifth in his first elite Grand Final in Abu Dhabi to place sixth overall in the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series.
June 2023: Takes that long-waited World Triathlon win
After a shaky start in Abu Dhabi in March with an 18th-place finish, Hauser finds his form with a silver in Yokohama behind Wilde come May.
A month later – and with an admittedly reduced men's field – Hauser takes that elusive maiden victory on the streets of Montreal.
September 2023: Ends the year seventh in the world and off to Paris
Follows up his Montreal victory with a fifth place in Hamburg. But Covid strikes pre-Paris Test Event that results in an agonising DNS. Back racing at the Grand Final, he manages eighth to take seventh overall in the 2023 standings… but, more importantly, mets Australia's Olympic qualifying criteria for Paris 2024.
October 2023: Medals in Malibu
Takes bronze at the third round of the Super League Series in Malibu, USA.
Matt Hauser in quotes
On becoming junior world champion in 2017: “From 45th place last year to having two world titles this year – what an honour. And also to be the first Australian male to win the junior world champs in 18 years. I crossed the finish line and embraced my mum. My parents are legends. They’ve had my back from day one.”
On the pandemic destroying the triathlon race calendar: “Mr Covid struck like lightning and left a four-year plan to dissolve into a cloud of uncertainty.”
On his first WTS podium: “I’m so stoked. It was a long time coming.”
On just failing to chase down Hayden Wilde for Commonwealth Games silver in 2022: “My coach was yelling out ‘Hayden has got a penalty’ and I was like ‘I’m just trying to hang on to third here, mate. Crikey.’ I was hoping for him to do a bit more of a celebration towards the end and me sneak through to second, but it’s good to cross third.”
What’s next for Matt Hauser?
Time is very much on the Queenslander’s side. At the midway point of his twenties, he has already amassed a wealth of race experience at various levels, along with a bagful of championship medals.
His sparkling post-pandemic form (the Olympics aside) shows that no-one should be surprised if Hauser becomes one of the dominant forces on the WTCS circuit over the next few years.
Top image credit: James Mitchell/Super League Triathlon
