Men_s Health Australia - April 2016__

If you’re the sheepish
custodianofpipe-cleanerpins,
thenbustingthroughtheodd
pairofdenims–IncredibleHulk-
style–mightsoundlikea
problemyou’dliketohave.Fair
enough. But keep in mind that
Glaetzer pays for his trunk-like
lowerlimbsinthecurrencyof
pain: unsparing sessions on the
bike and weight-room workouts
marked by an intensity that
would scare children.

Glaetzer’staleisalessoninthe

merits of finding (or stumbling

upon) the thing you’re most

gifted at, and then doing

everything within reason to turn

talent into absolute proficiency.

It’s an approach that can carry

youfar.It’ssoontopropel

Glaetzer to his second Olympics,

where he looms as a real

contender in three events: the

individual sprint, the team

sprint and the keirin.

“IfIweretocomeawayfrom

Rio with nothing, I’d be

disappointed,” he says. “I’ve got

therawmaterialstowinamedal,

possibly gold.”

Here’s how a once out-of-sorts

kidfromtheAdelaidesuburbof

Paradisebecameaworld-beater.

Are you making the most of your

greatest talent?

FIND YOUR CALLING

In his early teens Glaetzer was

adrift.He’dbeenapromising

pole-vaulter until problematic

hamstringsandadiagnosisof

Osgood-Schlatter disease

(painful lumps under the knees)

sentenced him to two years of

no sprinting.

For someone whose self-image

was“thesportguy”,inactivity

didnotsitwell.“Istartedtoget

angryatacoupleofmyteachers

and give them a hard time, which

was out of character for me,” he

ELITETHE ROAD TO RIO

110 APRIL 2016

NAME

Matthew Glaetzer

AGE

23

SPORT

Track cycling

WORLD RANKING

No.1(Individual sprint)

LIVES

Adelaide

HEIGHT

190cm

WEIGHT

96kg

MAXIMUM SPEED

78km/h^

AT A GLANCE

BYDANIEL WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK CLAYTON

MATT GLAETZERhasaproblemwithjeans.He
goesthroughthemlikeyougothroughcheap
sportssocks.Inamatterofmonthsthey’re
comingapartattheseams,justfromthepressure
appliedbyhistitanicthighsandglutes.
“Iwasattheshopstheotherdayandgrabbed
apairofftherackthatIthoughtlookedall
right,”saysthepersonableGlaetzer,notlong
homefroma30-kilometremorningroadride.
“But in the change room I couldn’t get them
over my calves.”

AUSTRALIAN

SPRINT SENSATION MATTHEW GLAETZER’S

NOT-SO-SECRET WEAPON – MASSIVE

LOWER-BODY MUSCLE – IS AN ASSET

WORTH ADDING TO YOUR OWN FRAME.

HERE’S THE BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING IT

THE FAST LANE