Australia’s Triathlon team are healthy and poised to push their rivals in Paris, aiming to bring home the country’s first medal in the Mixed Relay event.
Matt Hauser, Luke Willian, Sophie Linn, and Natalie Van Coevorden are all healthy following the individual races and like other athletes competing, bring the experience of racing in the strong River Seine current as well as familiarity with the cycle and run course.
The Australian athletes relish the Mixed Relay format and team camaraderie. Each athlete swims 300m, cycles 7km and runs 1.8km before handing over to their teammate.
The event made its Olympic debut at Tokyo three years ago, where the Australians finished ninth. At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, Natalie, Matt and Sophie won bronze together with Jake Birtwhistle.
Matt brings strong form into the relay after finishing seventh in the Men’s individual event, initially postponed due to poor water quality in the Seine.
The event is subject to the forthcoming water tests (around 3.30am race morning)
complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming, as per the individual event.
Should water quality fail to meet the required thresholds, Paris 2024, in conjunction with World Triathlon, will postpone the Olympic mixed relay triathlon 24 hours from Monday 5 August at 8am (4pm AEST) to Tuesday 6 August.
Luke was 42nd in the individual race and learned a lot from the tricky swim conditions. Sophie, who thrives in the sprint format, was 21st and Natalie who was also challenged by the swim and forced to clip out after several cyclists crashed in front of her was 42nd.
The relay is scheduled for 4pm Monday 5 August AEST, and set to be run in front of a huge and enthusiastic Paris crowd.
"It's deafening out there,” Matt said after the men’s race.
“To see this attraction for a sport that we all know and love is amazing. Having the first triathlon in Sydney and now all the way up to Paris and LA (Los Angeles 2028) and then Brisbane in 2032, it's amazing to be a part of the sport, and I can't wait to see where we go from here."
The race order for the Aussie athletes will be confirmed on the morning of the competition.
Andrew Reid
