Matthew Glaetzer has overcome cancer, a badly-blown calf muscle and way too much bad chocolate to win his first Olympic medal after missing out in heartbreaking fashion at three previous Games.
Glaetzer, Leigh Hoffman and Matt Richardson took a big risk on Tuesday night, completely reorganising their starting order for the cycling men’s team sprint bronze-medal ride-off.
It paid off beautifully as they silenced the raucous crowd at the Olympic velodrome by beating host nation France to claim third place in the event.
Glaetzer spoke of the monkey being off his back. Until Paris, the number four had featured far too prominently in his Olympic career.
This is his fourth Games and he’d endured four fourth placings – the dreaded ‘chocolate medal’.
Indeed, since winning bronze in the men’s team sprint at Sydney 2000, Australia had finished fourth at every Games since.
Glaetzer had ridden in the last three of those, as well as losing his match sprint bronze medal ride-off at the Rio Games.
Plus, ahead of Tokyo, he’d overcome thyroid cancer and a severe calf injury.
Matt Glaetzer broke down in his wife Nikki’s arms after he finally overcame an Olympics hoodoo to secure bronze with the Aussie men’s sprint cycling team
The 31-year-old was elated after taking third place after almost quitting the sport when he suffered a series of heartbreaking setbacks
‘An Olympic medal means so much. I’ve had so much heartbreak in Olympic finals,’ Glaetzer said.
‘Every Olympic final I’ve been in has been gut-wrenching and the last Olympics caused me to question whether I wanted to keep riding.
‘Geez I’m glad I stuck it out and got the monkey off the back.
‘I’ve been working my whole elite career to try to do this.’
Glaetzer also admitted to mixed emotions about not doing better this time in the team sprint.
Australia had upset the Dutch to win the 2022 world title at the Olympic velodrome and narrowly lost to them at last year’s worlds.
So they came to Paris with high hopes, only to struggle badly in their round-one heat.
While they won, Glaetzer was way off the pace as the third rider and that meant Australia posted the third-quickest time behind the Netherlands and Great Britain.
That put them into the ride-off for bronze.
Australia probably would not have beaten the Dutch, who broke their own world record to win the gold medal, but Glaetzer conceded their competition did not go to plan.
Glaetzer (pictured with wife Nikki) had come fourth at three previous Olympics, leaving him with the dreaded so-called ‘chocolate medal’
The South Australian had to beat a bout of thyroid cancer in 2019 to keep his Olympic dream alive – and he finally made it reality after 12 years of trying
‘We felt like we could have been in the gold (ride) with the times we were capable of, but it just didn’t come together,’ he said.
‘I knew we had to mix it up in the final. We just rode our hearts out.’
Australia normally start with Hoffman, then follow with Richardson and Glaetzer is third. Instead, they went Glaetzer, Hoffman and Richardson in the bronze ride-off.
‘I did not want it slipping through our fingers again. It (the changed order) was a big risk,’ Glaetzer said.
Watching on was Australian cycling great and team chef de mission Anna Meares.
After only managing a gold and bronze at the Tokyo Games, Australian cycling already has two gold and two bronze, with the world record-breaking men’s team pursuiters riding for gold on Wednesday against Great Britain.
It is the first time Australian cycling has won multiple Olympic gold medals since the unprecedented gold rush in Athens, with six wins.
‘I feel excited, but I’m not … going to compound any pressure,’ Meares said.
‘I know what it’s like to be in that position. Just let them follow their process and dial it in. Let that outcome deal with itself.’
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