| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for the United States | ||
| Men's athletics | ||
| Silver | Athens 2004 | High jump |
Matt Hemingway (born October 24, 1972) is an American track and field athlete. He won a silver medal in the high jump at the 2004 Olympic Games by clearing a height of 2.34 meters (7 ft 8 in). Reflecting on this he said: "I'm ecstatic about winning the silver. You don’t lose gold medals. People win them. I won a silver and Stefan Holm won a gold." His personal best jump came at the US Indoor Championship where he leaped 2.38 m (7 ft 9¾ in).[1]
Hemingway is 6 ft 7 in (or 2.01 m) tall and weighs approximately 185 lb (or 84 kg). He originally is from 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 U.S. Junior Championships and jumped 7 ft 4 in. In 1993 he placed 8th at the NCAA Outdoors and was 15th in qualifying at USA Outdoors with a jump of 7 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 Outdoors. His year's best was a jump of 7 ft 4.5 in. In 1996 he earned first alternate position for the US Olympic Team by placing fourth at USA Olympic Trials. Hemingway also finished as runner-up at the NCAA Outdoors, placed thirrd at SECs and was ranked fifth in U.S. that year with his clearance of 7 ft 6.5 in.
He was tenth at the 1997 USA Outdoors, clearing a best of 7 ft 3 in, but did not compete in the two following seasons. He returned to win the US Indoor Championship in 2000 with his personal best jump of 2.38 m (7 ft 9¾ in). However, a stress fracture in his foot stopped him from competing through the following year. He made a comeback in 2002 and was second at the USA Outdoors. He repeated this finish in 2003 and placed 13th at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. He earned a place on the 2004 US Olympic Team by a jump of 2.30 (7 ft 6.5 in).
He is related to the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. Along with his wife, he has adopted one Ethiopian 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.
In his past, Hemingway was a guide for whitewater rafting company Noah's Ark Whitewater Rafting and Adventure in Buena Vista, CO, 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.