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Matthew Glaetzer

Matthew Glaetzer
Glaetzer in 2018
Personal information
Born (1992-08-24) 24 August 1992 (age 32)
Adelaide, South Australia
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight86 kg (190 lb)[1]
Team information
DisciplineTrack cycling
RoleRider
Rider typeSprint
Medal record
Men's track cycling
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Keirin
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Melbourne Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2018 Apeldoorn Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2016 London Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2018 Apeldoorn 1 km time trial
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow 1 km time trial
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Apeldoorn Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Sprint
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Keirin
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 1 km time trial
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Team sprint
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 1 km time trial
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Team sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast Team sprint

Matthew Glaetzer (born 24 August 1992)[2] is an Australian track cyclist specialising in sprint events. He has represented Australia at four Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024). At the 2024 Games he won two bronze medals.

Career

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He competed in the team sprint event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won the 2012 World Championship in the team sprint with Scott Sunderland and Shane Perkins.[3]

Glaetzer represented Australia in the men's sprint, men's keirin, and men's team sprint events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1]

On 12 November 2017, at the World Cup competition in Manchester, Glaetzer became the first rider ever to break the 1:00-minute mark for 1 km time trial, at sea level velodrome.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Glaetzer won gold in the men's keirin. He was eliminated from the men's sprint in the quarterfinals.[4] The next day, he won gold in the men's 1 km time trial.[5]

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Glaetzer courted controversy during the Keirin finals when he allowed a huge gap between Jason Kenny from Great Britain and the rest of the field.[6]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Glaetzer won gold in the men's team sprint alongside Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Richardson on the first day of the games.[7] He also competed in the men's individual sprint event where he came 4th.[8]

On 28 June 2024, Glaetzer was announced as a member of Australia's 2024 Olympics track cycling squad, the fourth Games of his career.[9] He won his first Olympic medals in Paris; a bronze in the team sprint alongside Hoffman and Richardson, and a bronze in the keirin (beaten only by Richardson and Harrie Lavreysen).

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Australia
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4th Men's sprint Lost bronze medal final to Denis Dmitriev
10th Men's keirin Came 4th in 7–12 final
4th Men's team sprint Lost bronze medal final to France
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France
3rd Men's keirin Came 3rd behind Harrie Lavreysen and fellow Australian Matthew Richardson
3rd Men's team sprint Won bronze medal final over France
Representing  Australia

Personal life

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Glaetzer is a Christian. He stated that he has been a Christian all his life, but drifted from God during his teens due to injuries. He rededicated his life to God at a camp run by his local church.[10] He also said God gave him the gift of cycling.[11] Glaetzer leads a youth group at Influencers Church in Paradise, Adelaide.[12]

Glaetzer is a student at University of South Australia, where he is studying a degree in Human Movement.[13] He has stated that he wants to go into physiotherapy when he retires from cycling.[12]

In October 2019, Glaetzer was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Rio 2016: Matthew Glaetzer athlete profile". rio2016.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Matthew Glaetzer - Player Profile - Cycling - Track". Eurosport UK. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Accidental cyclist Matthew Glaetzer keeps the faith". The Advertiser. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Cate Campbell takes gold, success in triathlon and cycling". ABC News. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Matthew Glaetzer bounces back from early Games failure to claim Gold". myGC.com.au. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Matthew Glaetzer's tactics criticised as Jason Kenny won gold in Tokyo Olympics keirin". 7NEWS. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Track Cycling Leads Australian Gold Rush On Day 1 At Birmingham 2022". Australian Cycling. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Cycling Track - Men's Sprint results". BBC Sport. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Nineteen track and road cyclists geared up for Paris Olympic Games". Australian Olympic Committee. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Humble winner". challengenews.online. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Accidental cyclist keeps the faith". Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b "The Coffee Ride #36 – Track feature special". Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  13. ^ Galvin, Rosanna (July 2014). "Students' fast track to Commonwealth Games". University of South Australia News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Australian Matthew Glaetzer withdrawn from track sprint". NBC Olympics. Reuters. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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