HAUSER Matthew

General
PRE-RACE FOCUS
He says he performs better the less he thinks about a race before he crosses the start line. "I rely a lot on my instincts and sticking to my guns during races. Once you know what works for you, I think it's about blocking everything out and trying to focus on your controllables. At the 2016 Junior World Championships in Cozumel [Mexico], I got smashed. I was predicted to podium, but finished 45th. At that stage I was really results driven, which ended up biting me. The next year in Rotterdam [Netherlands], I didn't think about results, and didn't even think about the race until the morning. All I had in my mind was dive, three dolphin kicks, hard off the start to the first buoy. That's all I was thinking about. I knew because of my training and repetition in races that everything else would come, and that my instincts would kick into gear from then." (blog.supersapiens.com, 12 Jul 2021)

FUELLING LESSONS
He says he learned lessons about refuelling during races after competing at the 2019 Olympic Games Test Event in Tokyo, Japan. "Fuelling for me has definitely been a learning process. At the Tokyo test event, I remember the feeling I had on the run. It was a hot day, I was lethargic, and I knew I needed an extra spike of energy. Luckily, because of the hot conditions, they had aid stations where I was able to get some electrolytes. My greatest learnings have always come from those in-race feelings and that's what's guided my work with my nutritionist and dietician. I think back to that feeling and it just reinforces that you need to be prepared for anything, even more so for bigger guys like me. It's probably more critical for me to fuel properly than the average competitor." (blog.supersapiens.com, 12 Jul 2021)

FUTURE PLANS
After retiring from triathlon, he plans to work in commercial or sports marketing as a copywriter. "I have a blog on my website that started off as a bit of a point of difference to present to sponsors. At a young age, you're always trying to knock on the door when your results aren't as prominent as some of the older guys on the circuit. It was my way of saying, 'Hey, my name's Matt Hauser, here's my race report and I've gone in-depth into my performance, how I processed the emotion of the race, and how I was feeling after'. I don't hold anything back. As sponsors started to come on board, my writing became a real passion and picked up steam. Late last year [in 2020], after I finished my marketing degree, I got an opportunity to do an internship with one of my sponsors." (blog.supersapiens.com, 12 Jul 2021; LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2021)