While the COVID-19 pandemic and the one-year postponement of the Tokyo Olympics undoubtedly had a major impact on the Australian track short-distance team, including the loss of a serious gold medal opportunity with the retirement of Stephanie Morton, it also gave the men's short-distance team core athlete gave Matthew Glatzer time to rebuild.

It is no exaggeration to say that the 28-year-old South Australian was facing a difficult situation going into his third Olympics, especially if it had been held in 2020 as planned; in November 2019, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent surgery to remove the cancer, but his challenges did not end there It was not the end.

Still, despite not having raced in two years, Glatzer will soon be competing in his first event, the team sprint at the Izu Velodrome.

"For me the last two years have been really tough. [I've had to overcome a lot. My world was turned upside down with my cancer diagnosis, I tore my calf, I had tendonitis issues.

"It was a tough process, but I came out of it pretty strong and in a really good position on the other side.

Gretzer is on the entry list for the men's sprint and keirin, but is most notable for the team sprint (where he will compete with Rio Olympics teammates Nathan Hart and Matt Richardson).

Although he failed to medal at the Rio Games, he did win a bronze medal at the 2020 Track World Championships.

"Definitely, to win a bronze medal at the World Championships without me is very encouraging because I think I would have run faster if I was on the team," Gretzer said.

"We are in a pretty strong place and I am really excited to see what we can do on this fast course. The Team Sprint is the event we are aiming for and I believe we can go right up there."

Limited by the COVID-19 epidemic, the last major international event in which his main rivals competed was the 2020 UCI Track World Championships, held in February of that year. In addition, the health and injury issues that Glatzer faced further lengthened his time away from racing to nearly two years.

"We've done as much preparation as we could, racing each other and watching videos.

"But it's a big unknown, and we won't know how we stack up against other countries until we hit the track. But I have confidence in the team. We have a really strong performance, so we believe in our abilities and we want to see how we compare to the other countries on our first run."

The Dutch team has won the last three track world championships and is an unbeatable opponent in the team sprint.

"They have changed the game.

"They really stepped up in a big way and were almost a second ahead of the rest of the field. I believe we could have closed that gap and I believe we can beat them.

Great Britain also cannot be overlooked, as the team has won gold in this event at the last three Olympics and has Jason Kenny, who has contributed to all of their victories, on the team again this year.

"We always want to win against the British and they always come to the Olympics.

"They never look too fast for competition. They have a good program, they have good backups, and they are talented athletes. Jason Kenny is coming back and he can do anything because he's Jason Kenny.

Unlike Great Britain, Australia missed out on fourth place finishes in 2016 and 2012, with their last Olympic podium finish in the men's event coming in Sydney in 2000.

This time around, Glatzer plans to change that, having finished fourth multiple times, but with a fresh perspective and looking forward to enjoying the experience regardless of the outcome.

"If everything goes according to plan and we win a medal, it will be very satisfying," he said. 'We have put in a lot of work and dedicated a lot to this moment. If all goes well, it will be a big, big moment for everyone and a final reward for all the hard work and our efforts.

"But at the same time, I am grateful to be here. After all, this is just a bike race and there is more to life than elite sports. Yes, it seems like our world now, but for me, what I've been through has made me think in a completely different way and I'm really grateful for that. I think by working hard together we celebrate what we can do in life and if the results come, that's great."