Carroll Professor Jonathan Matthews headed to race walking Olympic Trials

This coming weekend Carroll College Education Professor Jonathan Matthews will head down to San Diego, California to compete in the 50-k race walking Olympic trials.

Matthews heads into the 31 mile event with the 3rd fastest time among the 15 athletes who've qualified for the Olympic trials, but there's one difference, he's 55 years old and twice as old as most of the other competitors. Jonathan was hanging out with his wife Stephanie and 2 sons Kyle and Connor this afternoon and he talked about what drives him to still compete.

“I love training and competing so much, it's a big part of my life. I managed to keep pretty injury free, I have a healthy diet, all those factors, it's mainly my passion for sport, I love sport, I love being an athlete,” says Matthews.

Jonathan has no allusions about making the Olympic team as time qualifying standards will prevent that but for him there are other goals he's shooting for this week in San Diego.

“And this is like my Olympics, this Sunday is my Olympics and I'm going to go for it and if everything goes really well for me which i hope it does, training's been going well, if everything goes really well, I have a chance to set a world record in the 55 to 59 age group,” says Matthews,” says Matthews.

Jonathan has set 30 US records in race walking but he's never set a world record so this Sunday he'll give it his best shot at the age of 55.

Story by Al Marks, Beartooth NBC.
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