By Josh Squire

Australia’s best triathletes will be led by three-time Commonwealth Games medallist Matt Hauser, as the team looks to return to the Olympic podium following the announcement of the final squad last week.

Hauser will compete at his second Olympic Games to go along with his two Commonwealth Games appearances that have yielded him a gold and two bronze medals.

The 26-year-old came third in the men’s Individual competition at Birmingham 2022, and has produced strong results in the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) since then.

A maiden win in Montreal last June paired with a second-place finish at the most recent WTCS event in Yokohama hold him in good stead to become the first Australian man to medal in an Olympic triathlon.

Nipping at his heels in Yokohama was Gold Coast 2018 Team Member Luke Willian, whose efforts there were enough to line him up for an Olympic debut in Paris.

It will be Willian’s first Olympic Games after he narrowly missed out on selection for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and a chance to build on his eighth-place finish at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games six years ago.

After competing against each other in the men’s individual event, Willian and Hauser will team up with Birmingham 2022 bronze medallists Natalie Van Coevorden and Sophie Linn, both Olympic Games debutants, to take on the recently added Mixed Team Relay event.

The quartet came together to claim a silver medal in the relay at the 2022 WTCS event in Hamburg, showing what they can do on the world stage as a team.

Van Coevorden and Linn will be coming off their own individual races in Paris, where they will look to join the likes of Melbourne 2006 gold medallist Emma Snowsill and Manchester 2002 Team Members Michellie Jones and Loretta Harrop as Australian Olympic triathlon medallists.

The unveiling of the four triathletes tips the number of Australian athletes confirmed for next month’s Olympic Games past 200, with a further 250 athletes expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The triathlon events will be held on 30 July (men) and 31 July (women) and 5 August (Mixed Relay). The start and finish line of the triathlon events will be at Pont Alexandre III. The Pont Alexandre III, a 45-metre metal bridge, has a single 107-metre arch and three hinges, enabling it to span the Seine in a single unbroken curve.

The course will see athletes competing against the backdrop of symbolic landmarks such as the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower.

With thanks to Triathlon Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee.

Natalie, Matt, Luke and Sophie with her no.1 supporter (Willie 🐶) have punched their tickets to the #Paris2024 triathlon! 🇫🇷#AllezAUS | @AusTriathlon pic.twitter.com/smkXYGTOtT

— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) June 20, 2024