With just over two weeks left for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Australia’s Matt Hauser made a huge statement of intent by winning the gold medal in the men’s elite event at the World Triathlon Championship Series Hamburg in Germany.

The 26-year-old Australian triathlete clocked an impressive 50:03 (50 minutes and 3 seconds) to finish ahead of Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca (50:09) and France’s Pierre Le Corre (50:10).

This was Hauser’s second career World Triathlon Championship Series win following his triumph at Montreal last year. The Aussie’s victory in Germany follows a second-place finish in Yokohama and sees Hauser head into Paris 2024 on a high.

“That was tough out there. But really happy to get the win. It’s good to take some good form into Paris, but I’ll take it in my stride,” Hauser said after his win. “It’s a really good confidence booster. Whether I had a good or bad result, it wouldn’t change anything for two weeks’ time. It’s a nice little nudge in the right direction.”

“It’s nice to enjoy a win on the longer road to Paris. I’m really focused on enjoying the moments and the little things in this process and not losing sight of that,” he added.

Hauser’s task at Hamburg was made easy with Great Britain’s Alex Yee and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, the silver and bronze medallists from Tokyo 2020, missing from the field. The French duo of Dorian Coninx and Leo Bergere also sat out the meet.

“There were a few big names missing out there, but in two weeks’ time they’ll fill in the gaps and we’ll have a good showdown. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best,” Hauser said.

“Certainly we want the Olympic Games to be the culmination of the world’s best athletes… those guys have shown over the past few years they’re the ones to beat,” he added.

Luke Willian, who will be the second Australian male triathlete at Paris 2024, finished 11th in Hamburg with a time of 50:49. However, he is still first in the World Triathlon Championship Series rankings while Hauser is second.

In other Australian results, Brandon Copeland finished 20th – his best World Triathlon Championship Series result since 2022.

Paris 2024-bound women’s duo Sophie Linn and Natalie Van Coevorden finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, in the women’s elite event while Ellie Hoitink came in at 43rd place.