A little over a month after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Matthew Glaetzer has taken the bronze medal in the men’s keirin at the UCI Track World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand. The Australian underwent surgery in November to remove a cancerous growth and he said afterwards that he would continue to target the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Glaetzer missed the first three rounds of the Track World Cup in Minsk, Glasgow and Hong Kong, but he performed strongly in the keirin in Cambridge and will also take part in the Brisbane World Cup next week.
“It’s pretty surreal to be honest. It’s the best third place I’ve got in my career,” Glaetzer said.
“I exceeded my expectations by about three positions with this third place and very special in the considerations of what I’ve been through and it’s a credit to my team around me, just taking it one day at a time and not letting something get in your way.”
"I am thankful for the type of cancer that I do have and that it is treatable," Glaetzer said at the time.
“That will give me a good picture as to what exactly we’re dealing with and from there assessing how many treatments I’ll need,” Glaetzer said in Cambridge on Saturday.