GLAETZER Matthew

General
CANCER TREATMENT
He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in October 2019. He underwent surgery the following month and returned to action in December 2019 at the World Cup event in Cambridge, New Zealand. He continued radiotherapy treatment into 2020, and still hopes to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "When you hear the 'C' word - you always think it won't happen to you, but suddenly you have to deal with it yourself. Thankfully we caught it early. I do not want this stopping me from doing what I love. This has been a setback, but as athletes we are always working with an injury here or there. I am just treating this like a little injury. If all goes well, it won't hold me back." (theguardian.com, 15 Dec 2019; cyclingweekly.com, 07 Dec 2019; theguardian.com, 18 Nov 2019)

ELUSIVE OLYMPIC MEDAL
He has won gold medals at the world championships, Oceania championships, and the Commonwealth Games, but he is yet to secure a podium finish at the Olympic Games. He competed at the Games in 2012 and 2016, and has three fourth-place finishes to his name. "I have won pretty much everything other than an Olympic medal. I know how hard it is to perform when the Olympics come around, and how good the rest of the world is on that day." (theguardian.com, 18 Nov 2019)

STYLE
He can adjust his racing position where his chin almost touches the front tyre when he sprints for the line on the track. "My spine vertebrae are hyper-flexible which allows me to get into that low position. I don't do it purposely, it's just natural - me giving it my absolute everything as I try to get as aerodynamic as possible." (sbs.com.au, 25 Feb 2016)