Matthew Glaetzer didn’t exactly set the track alight at the 2010 Australian Track Championships. The South Australian finished second in three under-19 events, but there was a glimmer about his spirit that caught the eye of cycling queen Anna Meares.

“The one thing I really remember about him is the amount of fight he put in to competing,” Meares said when the prospective 2012 Olympic Team gathered in Adelaide last week.

“I really noticed him that year at Nationals when he won three silver medals. I noticed that it wasn’t a downer for him. Instead he took it as ‘I don’t want to be here again’- so next time it will be maybe one gold and two silvers.”

The youngster with the right attitude secured selection for the 2010 Junior World Championships in Montichiari, Italy.

Glaetzer’s cycling career was gaining momentum, but the 17-year-old also had the first subjects of his Higher School Certificate (HSC) to tackle- which he decided to complete over two years. As the wheels began to shake, Glaetzer found support in Olympic champion, Meares.

“That was sort of a tough time with school and trying to balance it all and I was getting quite stressed,” Glaetzer recalled.

“Anna was able to shed her experience on the situation and helped me gain focus and really achieve my best,” he said.

The ‘fighter’ went on to claim two Junior World Championship titles in Italy just six months after Nationals, winning gold in the sprint and keirin events- both of which are on the Olympic program.

Glaetzer gained a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2011 and Meares remembers his beginnings.

“As a youngster he was very green, very eager- maybe a bit too eager at first,” she said fondly.

“He’s had his challenges like any youngster- balancing studying, training, a social life- but he is one of the few who listens to what he is told and he does it.”

Glaetzer, who won gold at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival, successfully made the transition into the senior ranks and finished 11th in the sprint at the 2011 World Championships. He credits much of his progress and success to Meares.

“Anna has been a major part of my development and the transition into the senior team,” Glaetzer said of what is often a pitfall for young riders.

“The transition does have its bumps here and there but it’s a great experience and to have her supporting me here and there has been fantastic,” he said.

This November Glaetzer set an Australian record in the coveted team sprint at the World Cup in Astana alongside Commonwealth Games gold medallists Scott Sunderland and Shane Perkins- their first outing as a trio.

Glaetzer also wrapped up his HSC abroad in the Kazakhstan capital to top off a rewarding year. But this hardworking teenager is not letting up.

He may be the youngest member of the men’s AIS Sprint Squad but Glaetzer hopes to be one of the three men on the start line for the team sprint in London. The Australians aim to topple the Poms in the event after placing fourth in 2004 and 2008.

“It would be a childhood dream come true to represent my country at an Olympic Games and London would be incredible,” Glaetzer said.

Showing all of the character that impressed Meares, the 19-year-old knows the path to London.

“I plan to put my hand up for selection through the performances I lay down on the tracks,” he said.

As Meares prepares for her third Games knowing what to expect and with high expectations to match, her apprentice Glaetzer is sucking everything in as he brims for his Olympic debut.

“Anna has just been a great role model and sets the example of how I need to perform and hold myself and go about my business,” he said.

“She is, in my opinion, one of the best of the best- professional, at the top of her game and is the best person to learn off.”

“To have a mentor of that calibre is a huge privilege,” Glaetzer recognises.

The modest Meares was flattered by Glaetzer’s praise, but is as eager as any to watch his career flourish.

Together the master and the apprentice hope to bring down the Brits in London.

Taya Conomos
AOC