Australia’s Olympic 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.
“It is going to be super-fast racing and anything can happen in the relay. We’re going to live up to all expectations and have a great race on Monday,” Van Coevorden said.
“We’ve raced together before in the team event and we were on the podium in Hamburg in 2022.
“It’s great to be back with these three team members. We know how to work together. We’re great friends and the comradeship really brings us all together.”
Linn relishes the relay team format.
“I truly love the team aspect of the relay and I get really hyped up by the whole team environment,” Sophie said.
“I’m well suited to the super sprint format but we’re all focused on our individual preparations for two-hour Olympic distance before we regroup for the relay.”
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, Van Coevorden, Hauser and Linn won bronze together with Jake Birtwhistle.
Hauser 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.
Willian was 42nd in the individual race and learned a lot from the tricky swim conditions. Linn, who thrives in the sprint format, was 21st and Van Coevorden 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,” Hauser 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.
