Australia have taken a massive step in breaking its triathlon medal hoodoo

Australia could be on its way to breaking its triathlon Olympic medal drought, with Brisbane product Luke Willian qualifying for Paris with a great race in Yokohama.

Luke Willian breaks the tape to win the Wollongong World Cup triathlon and enhance his Olympic selection chances. Pic by (Con Chronis/AusTriathlon)

Australia will head to the Paris Olympics determined to break its medal drought in men’s triathlon after Luke Willian raced on to the podium in Yokohama to seal his Games berth and underline the team’s depth.

Gold Coast product Matt Hauser, who has already qualified for the Olympics, had a blistering final run to win silver in Japan but it was Willian’s third placing that had Australian triathlon buzzing.

The Brisbane 28-year-old sealed automatic selection for Paris with a top-eight finish in the qualification race.

Australia has a storeyed history in women’s triathlon at the Olympics.

Michellie Jones won silver in the sport’s debut in Sydney, Loretta Harrop finished second in Athens and Emma Snowsill broke through for the country’s first gold medal in Beijing, where she was joined on the podium by Emma Moffatt (bronze).

Erin Densham also won a bronze in London but Australia has not been on the podium in the past decade.

But both Hauser, and now Willian, whose effort in the weekend’s World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) round in Yokohama was the best of his career, have shown they could break the male hoodoo and help Australia to its first men’s medal.

How will Luke Willian go in Paris?

Hauser sealed his spot in the Olympics with a top-eight placing in the World Triathlon Championship finals in Pontevedra last year but it was all on the line for Willian at the weekend.

Yokohama was the last chance to automatically qualify for the Games under Triathlon Australia’s criteria.

“I’m a bit speechless right now,” Willian told Triathlon Australia. “I missed out last time, I was so, so close. I missed out on discretionary selection.

“So this whole journey has been all about taking my opportunities, creating my own destiny and to do that today with selection on the line is pretty special.

“I really wanted that podium. I didn’t want to just qualify, I want to compete and I want strive for the best.

“It’s pretty special that the other Aussie and guy in front of me is my roommate.”

Matt Hauser has already qualified for Paris.

The day was not as sweet for the Australian women, who will now have to rely on discretionary selection for the two team places.

Australia has already dipped to its lowest ebb in Olympic history in the sport.

It has qualified just two men’s and two women’s spots, rather than the maximum three possible, a mark it has achieved at every other Games.

And the women’s selection is set to be a headache for selectors because the top three Aussies are ranked between 48 and 52 in the world.

They have just one top-20 finish between them in the automatic selection events and will have their final chance to post a strong result at the WTCS event in Cagliari, Italy, in a fortnight.

The race is not an automatic selection event, which leaves team choices open to messy appeals, something that has long marked triathlon’s Olympic journey in Australia.

Originally published as Australia have taken a massive step in breaking its triathlon medal hoodoo