Matthew Glaetzer (born 24 August 1992)[2] is an Australian track cyclist specialising in sprint events. He has represented Australia at four Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024). At the 2024 Games he won two bronze medals.
On 12 November 2017, at the World Cup competition in Manchester, Glaetzer became the first rider ever to break the 1:00-minute mark for 1 km time trial, at sea level velodrome.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Glaetzer won gold in the men's keirin. He was eliminated from the men's sprint in the quarterfinals.[4] The next day, he won gold in the men's 1 km time trial.[5]
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Glaetzer courted controversy during the Keirin finals when he allowed a huge gap between Jason Kenny from Great Britain and the rest of the field.[6]
On 28 June 2024, Glaetzer was announced as a member of Australia's 2024 Olympics track cycling squad, the fourth Games of his career.[9] He won his first Olympic medals in Paris; a bronze in the team sprint alongside Hoffman and Richardson, and a bronze in the keirin (beaten only by Richardson and Harrie Lavreysen).
Glaetzer is a Christian. He stated that he has been a Christian all his life, but drifted from God during his teens due to injuries. He rededicated his life to God at a camp run by his local church.[10] He also said God gave him the gift of cycling.[11] Glaetzer leads a youth group at Influencers Church in Paradise, Adelaide.[12]
Glaetzer is a student at University of South Australia, where he is studying a degree in Human Movement.[13] He has stated that he wants to go into physiotherapy when he retires from cycling.[12]
In October 2019, Glaetzer was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.[14]
