View source for Matt Hemingway

{{Short description|American Olympic high jumper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{MedalTop}}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry| the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalSilver| [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Athens 2004]] | [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump|High jump]]}} 
{{MedalBottom}}

'''Matthew Eliot Hemingway''' (born October 24, 1972) is a retired [[United States|American]] [[track and field]] athlete. He won a [[silver medal]] in the [[high jump]] at the [[2004 Olympic Games]] in Athens by clearing a height of 2.34 meters (7&nbsp;ft 8 in). Reflecting on this he said: "I'm ecstatic about winning the silver. You don't lose [[gold medal]]s. People win them. I won a silver and Stefan Holm won a gold." His personal best jump came at the 2000 US Indoor Championship where he leaped 2.38 m (7&nbsp;ft 9{{fraction|3|4}} in).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletebios/5028689/detail.html |title=Hemingway Matt |work=NBC |access-date=October 29, 2011}}</ref> He jumped off of his left leg.

Hemingway is 6&nbsp;ft 7 in (or 2.01 m) tall and during his career weighed approximately 185&nbsp;lb (or 84&nbsp;kg). He originally is from [[Buena Vista, Colorado|Buena Vista]], [[Colorado]] and graduated the [[University of Arkansas]] in 1996. His best college performance was a second-place finish at the 1996 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

He came eighth at the 1991 [[USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships|U.S. Junior Championships]] and jumped 7&nbsp;ft 4 in. In 1993 he placed 8th at the NCAA Outdoors  and was 15th in qualifying at [[USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoors]] with a jump of 7&nbsp;ft 4.5 in. He was fourth at the collegiate SEC Outdoors in 1994. In 1995 he was third at the NCAA Outdoors, second at the SEC Outdoors and 12th (a tie) at [[USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoors]]. His year's best was a jump of 7&nbsp;ft 4.5 in. In his senior year, 1996, he finished third at the Southeastern Conference championships, but then earned 2nd place at the [[NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship|NCAA Outdoors]] championships. At the 1996 [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|USA Olympic Trials]] he earned first alternate position for the US Olympic Team by placing fourth. He finished the 1996 season ranked fifth in U.S., with a best jump of 7&nbsp;ft 6.5 in.

His first year out of school was disappointing, with a best of only 7' 3" (set indoors) followed by a tenth-place finish at the 1997 [[USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|USA Outdoors]] championships. Saying he was burnt out and that jumping was no longer fun, Hemingway sat out for two years and worked as a white water rafting guide in Colorado in 1998 and 1999, marrying his Arkansas college sweetheart, Kate, in 1998.  He then returned to competition in a big way in 2000.

==USA Championship Meet Record Indoors==
He returned to jumping during the 2000 indoor season and won the [[USA Indoor Track and Field Championships|US Indoor Championship]] with his personal best jump of 2.38 m (7&nbsp;ft 9{{fraction|3|4}} in). The meet was held in Atlanta, and Hemingway easily defeated [[Charles Austin (high jumper)|Charles Austin]] and [[Jeremy Fischer (athlete)|Jeremy Fischer]], who could clear only 2.27.  Hemingway's 2.38 was not only a personal best, it was also a new Indoor Championship Meet Record and the highest indoor jump in the world that year. At the 2000 USA Olympic Trials he had a very poor meet, finishing tenth with a jump of only 7' 1.5 (2.17m)- a height at which he would normally begin competing.

A stress fracture in his jumping foot stopped him from competing through the following year. He made a comeback in 2002 and was second at the USA Outdoors. He had a great, early start to the 2003 outdoor season, establishing a new personal (outdoor) best of 2.34 (7' 8.25") at the [[Modesto Relays]] in Modesto, California on 10 May. He repeated his 2nd-place finish at 2003 USA championships, and placed 13th at the [[2003 World Championships in Athletics]].

==2004 Athens Olympics==
In 2004, at the (relatively advanced) age of 31, he finally earned a place on the US Olympic Team with a jump of 2.30 (7&nbsp;ft 6.5 in) in the Trials. At the Olympics in Athens, he easily cleared the (automatic) qualifying height of 2.20 to reach the finals. In the finals on 22 August, Hemingway began jumping at 2.20 and was perfect (no misses) through 2.34. Four men cleared that height, including American teammate [[Jamie Nieto]]. As the bar was raised 2 centimeters to 2.36, Hemingway was in first place by virtue of being the only jumper with a perfect record. But when Sweden's [[Stefan Holm]] was the only jumper to scale 2.36, Hemingway was awarded the silver and [[Jaroslav Baba]] took the bronze (because of two misses at 2.32). For Hemingway, the 2.34 matched his personal best outdoors.

==Personal life==
He is related to the famous writer [[Ernest Hemingway]]. Along with his wife, he has adopted one [[Ethiopia]]n child and plan to adopt another. In the future, he and his wife plan to adopt a couple of other children. Hemingway and his wife appeared in the episode "Making Room" (season 3, episode 3) of the [[HGTV]] television show ''Carter Can'' with [[Carter Oosterhouse]]. The show highlights their attempt to make room for their first adopted child.

Matt also works as a guide for [[whitewater rafting]] company Noah's Ark Whitewater Rafting and Adventure in Buena Vista, CO close to where he grew up.  In the past Matt worked as manager for a cellular phone store, technical engineer for a wireless carrier (he worked full-time while training for a chance at the Olympics). As of 2006, Hemingway leads a department at the InterActive Corporation (IAC)-owned online home improvement advertiser [[ServiceMagic]] in Golden, Colorado. Currently not working at ServiceMagic

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.matthemingway.com}}
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040825035926/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1313.htm  |title=Matt Hemingway at the United States Olympic Team |date=mdy}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Olympics.com profile}}

{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's high jump}}
{{Footer US NC high jump Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 2004 Summer Olympics}}
__NOTOC__

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingway, Matt}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:American male high jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:University of Arkansas alumni]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:People from Chaffee County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Colorado]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]