Australia are back on top of the triathlon world, crowned World Champions in the Mixed Relay for the first time since 2017, after a thrilling, come-from-behind performance in Hamburg.
Anchored by a flying final leg from Matt Hauser, the team of Sophie Linn, Luke Willian, Emma Jeffcoat and Hauser delivered a gutsy and golden effort to claim victory in one of the most unpredictable World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships in recent memory.
Fresh off winning the World Triathlon Championship Series men’s race the day before, Hauser produced another standout performance – erasing a 20-second deficit to chase down the leaders and power Australia to the top of the podium.
“Team Australia back on top of the podium for the first time since 2017… I can’t be happier,” Hauser said.
“We set ourselves the goal of a top-five and when I saw that I could fight for the podium I just thought ‘let’s go!”
“The Relay is go from the start, and having these guys behind your back makes you feel even more strong.”
The win was built on a complete team performance from Sophie Linn, Luke Willian and Emma Jeffcoat, each stepping up under pressure to keep Australia in the fight.
Linn led things off navigating a fast, physical start to set the tone for the team.
“It’s always a team effort, but it’s so great to come up with the win, you cannot ask for more,” Linn said.
“You always want to start things well but I knew that I have a great team behind me. I knew that I just had to stay in contact all day and we would be fine.”
Willian was up next, taking on the second leg that included Portugal’s Vasco Vilaça, coming off a silver medal in the individual race just 24 hours earlier. Despite Vilaça’s charge, Willian dug deep to keep Australia within striking distance.
‘I was trying to stay in touch but Vasco came like a rocket. I ended up having to give it all on that run to try to stay in touch as much as possible,” Willian said.
Jeffcoat took over for the third leg and delivered a monster swim-bike combination that clawed back key places. She held tough on the run to keep the team right in the mix heading into the final tag.
“I knew Cassandre (Beaugrand, FRA) was going come past flying on the run so I was trying to stay in touch as long as I could. I was pretty confident with the leg that I put together,” Jeffcoat said.
Then it was the Matt Hauser show.
With the crowd roaring in Hamburg, he clawed back time in the water, hit the front on the bike and surged ahead on the run to clinch gold ahead of France in second and hosts Germany in third.
For full results from the 2025 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships, click here.
