 Matthews (right) at the 2016 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Julian Francis Matthews |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Born | 21 July 1988 Nelson, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 1500 m |
| Club | The Very Nice Track Club (Ann Arbor, U.S.) [1] |
| Coached by | Ron Warhurst [1] |
Julian Francis Matthews (born 21 July 1988) is a New Zealand middle distance runner who represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics..
Born in Nelson in 1988, [2] Matthews was educated at Nelson College from 2002 to 2006, [3] representing the school at basketball as well as athletics. [4] In 2006 he won the New Zealand secondary schools 1500 m title. [5]
His grandfather, Trevor Wright, was a national basketball coach, and his mother played basketball for New Zealand; thus Matthews took up basketball as his first sport, and eventually was included into the national junior team. He changed to athletics because he wanted to have more personal control, that is, to move from team to individual sports. [1]
In 2008, Matthews took up an athletics scholarship at Auburn University in Alabama, [5] where he ran cross country and track. He placed 175th at the 2008 NCAA championships 10 km cross country, and 38th in the same race at the NCAA South Regional meet. [6] On the track he achieved a personal best of 3:46.79 in finishing fourth in the 1500 m at the War Eagle Invitational meet on 17 April 2009. [6] [7]
After a year at Auburn, Matthews transferred to Providence College in Rhode Island. [5] In the 2009–10 season, he finished 176th in the NCAA championships 10 km cross country and 9th in the NCAA championships 1500 m (outdoors). On 10 May 2010 he ran a personal best time of 3:43.95 for the 1500 m at the Swarthmore Last Chance meet. [6]
The following season, he came 130th in the NCAA 10 km cross country. [6] At the Boston University Valentine invitational on 14 February 2011, Matthews became the 34th New Zealander and second person from Nelson (after Rod Dixon) to run a sub-four-minute mile, recording a time of 3:58.57 indoors. [6] [8]
In the 2011–12 season, he was 93rd in the NCAA 10 km cross country, recorded two sub-four-minute miles (one indoors and one outdoors), and was a member of the Providence team that won the distance medley relay at the Big East championships. [6] Representing Tasman, he won the 2012 New Zealand 1500 m national championship in Auckland, recording a time of 3:54.37 in a slow, tactical race. [9]
In his final year at Providence, Matthews improved his personal best for the mile to 3:58.14 on 14 February 2013, won the 1000 m races at the Big East championships and URI Sorlien Invitational meet, and was a member of the winning distance medley relay team at the New England championships. [6] He graduated from Providence College in 2013. [10]
Matthews qualified for the New Zealand team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by twice meeting the 'B' qualifying standard for the 1500 m, first running 3:38.59 on 13 July 2013 at Heusden, Belgium, and then 3:38.20 at the USATF high performance meet in Eagle Rock, California, on 15 May 2014. In his 1500 m heat at Glasgow, Matthews finished fifth in a time of 3:40.33 and progressed to the final as a fastest loser. [11] In the final, he clocked 3:41.84 to finish ninth. [12]
Matthews' personal best times are as follows: [13]
| Event | Time | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 m | 1:50.22 | Gainesville, USA | 15 May 2009 |
| 1000 m (indoor) | 2:24.80 | New York, USA | 15 February 2012 |
| 1500 m | 3:36.14 | Swarthmore, PA, USA | 17 May 2016 [14] |
| Mile (indoor) | 3:58.14 | Boston, USA | 14 February 2013 |
| 3000 m | 8:17.25 | New York, USA | 27 May 2013 |
Jordan Melissa Hogan is an American distance runner. She attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo and was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine.
Will Leer is an American mid-distance runner. He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California in May 2007. Leer has represented the United States in international competition.
Geena Gall, is an Olympic American mid-distance runner who ran for the University of Michigan. Gall's achievements include back to back NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m in 2008 and 2009, representing the USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany in the 800m. She also competed at the North American Central American Caribbean Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2007 and Toluca, Mexico in 2008. Gall was a member of the "Fab Four" who set two collegiate records at the 2007 Penn Relays, a ten-time NCAA All-American, owning two Big Ten 800 meter records and two DMR records, 10 Big Ten championships, numerous U of M school records, and at Grand Blanc High School she was a three-time national champion.
Andrew "Andy" Wheating is a retired American middle distance runner. Wheating competed for the United States in the men's 800 m at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and in the 1500 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was a professional runner for Nike.
Jennifer Simpson is a retired American middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Mary Teresa Cullen is an Irish long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres on the track, and cross country running. She holds the Irish record over 3000 m indoors.
William Harold Nelson was a New Zealand long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland.
Angela BizzarriPflugrath is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and a former American distance runner. She competed for the University of Illinois (2006–2010) and won three NCAA national championships: in Cross Country, as well as in the 5000 meters (outdoor) and 3000 meters (indoor). As an Illini she earned nine All-American honours and five Big Ten Conference titles. She also holds Illini records in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters (outdoor), 5000 meters (indoor), the mile, and, in Cross Country, the 6000 meters.
Sheila Reid is a Canadian track and field Olympian who competes in cross country, middle and long-distance running events. She competed collegiately at Villanova University. Reid won the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship, and in June 2011 became the first woman to win the 5000 m and the 1500 m at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female cross country runner in 2011, repeated as the best female cross country runner in 2012, and also won the Honda Sports Award for Track and field in 2012.
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. is an American middle-distance runner, who specializes in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He also achieved a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships. Centrowitz is a five-time national champion in the 1500 m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
David Torrence was a Peruvian-American middle-distance runner and indoor American record holder in the 1000 meters (active). Born in Okinawa, Japan, Torrence was raised in Tarzana, California. After graduating from Loyola High School in 2003, he went on to run for the University of California, Berkeley and Hoka One One. Torrence represented Peru at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Craig Engels is an American middle-distance runner. He competed for the United States at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, where he won the men's 1500 meters. In the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Engels was focused on making the semi-finals of the 800m and was listed as an alternate for the 1500m. He finished 4th in the 800m final and 5th in the 1500m final, missing out on the Olympics in both events.
Eric Jenkins is a retired long-distance runner. In college, he ran for Northeastern University, before transferring to the University of Oregon after his junior year. At the University of Oregon, Jenkins was a two-time NCAA Champion, with victories in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. He began competing professionally for Nike in 2015 as part of the Nike Oregon Project. Jenkins retired from competition in 2023.
Clayton Murphy is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiately for the University of Akron, before signing with Nike in June 2016 and joining the Nike Oregon Project.
Linden Hall is an Australian track and field middle-distance runner.
Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.
Hamish Carson is a middle distance athlete from New Zealand. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres.
Cole Hocker is an American middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. He won the gold medal in the event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting an Olympic record and an area record of 3:27.65.
George Beamish is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner, who won the 1500 metres at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. He holds the Oceania area record in the 3000 m steeplechase of 8:09.64 and the New Zealand record in the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m. He finished fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 3000 m steeplechase.
Maia Ramsden is a track and field and cross-country athlete from New Zealand.
