Matthew Boling (born June 20, 2000) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete specializing in the sprints and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. He won four gold medals at the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

, 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay, and helped set world under-20 records in both of the relay races for the United States. He also ran in the semi-final for the American team at the 2018 World U20 Championships that went on to earn silver in the final. Boling would later go on to win a gold medal at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

in the mixed 4 × 400 m relay, and would help set a world record for the event in the process. Boling gained national attention during the spring of 2019 for his accomplishments in high school track and field. In March, he leaped the farthest in the long jump for a high school athlete in ten years with a mark at the

Texas Relays The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is an annual track and field competition held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The University of Texas serves as host for the event, held on either the last weekend of March or first weekend of April. E ...

, and then bested the high school all-conditions 100 m record, breaking the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less ...

with a

wind-assisted In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport. Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the at ...

9.98 seconds run on April 27, 2019. Boling finished his high school track career in May at the Texas state championships by running a 44.74 second anchor in the relay for the Strake Jesuit Crusaders, coming from behind to win in the fastest time for a high school team in the nation that year (3:10.56).

Early life

Matthew Boling was born to Mark and Monique Boling on June 20, 2000, with a twin brother, Michael. They grew up in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and attended River Oaks Baptist School, where Matthew began running track. The two then began attending

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (properly referred to as Strake Jesuit or Jesuit but often informally called Strake) is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for boys, grades 9–12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greater Sharpstown district ...

. Initially, Matthew competed in the high jump, then began focusing on the long jump and the 400 m. At the

2018 IAAF World U20 Championships The 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships, World U20 Championships in Athletics, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 1999) ...

, Boling ran the opening leg for the USA's relay team, which went on to get the silver medal in the final. In November that year, he committed to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Breakthrough

Boling went viral in 2019 when he broke the

with a wind-aided (+4.2 m/s) time of 9.98 seconds on April 27, 2019, setting the high school all-conditions record in the 100 m. He subsequently took on the nickname White Lightning, which was a reference to his race and to his speed, although Boling himself publicly stated he disliked attention being called to his race. He also long jumped at the

, the furthest jump for a high school athlete in 10 years. He won both events at the Texas UIL 6A State Championships, setting the wind-legal US high school record of 10.13 seconds in the 100 m, and anchored Strake Jesuit to 3rd in the . He went viral once again in the when he split 44.74 seconds on his anchor leg to bring Strake Jesuit a win from over 20 m behind. After winning the 100 m and 200 m at the USA U20 Championships, Boling turned the double at the

2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships The 2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships is the 20th edition of the biennial track and field competition for under-20 athletes from the Americas, organised by the Association of Panamerican Athletics. It is held in San José, Costa Rica ...

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

. Both times (10.11 and 20.31, respectively) were personal bests, and his 100 m time of 10.11 was also a championship record. He then ran the 4th and 2nd legs for the USA's and teams, respectively, both setting World U20 records. For his performances, Gatorade awarded Boling its National Boys Track & Field Player of the Year honors for 2018–19, and he was named the 2019 High School Boys Athlete Of The Year by ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

''.Lindstrom, Seige (September 12, 2019)
"2019 HS Boys Athlete Of The Year — Matthew Boling"
''

''. Retrieved April 13, 2021.

Collegiate career

2020

Before his first season at Georgia was cut short by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Boling attempted the 60 m, 200 m, Long Jump and the indoors. At the SEC Indoor Championships, Boling finished second overall in the 200 m with 20.71 seconds, losing to Terrance Laird of

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

from the first section.

2021

Returning to track, Boling again tried each event and chose to focus on the 200 m for the indoor season. At the SEC Championships, he was disqualified in the final for stepping out of his lane on the final turn, and Laird took the title. However, because he ranked high enough by running 20.37 in his preliminary, he qualified for his first NCAA Indoor Championships, where he would win the 200 m indoor NCAA national title. Boling clocked a 20.19, the joint-sixth fastest time in history. Laird and Boling's rivalry was set to grow in the outdoor season with the addition of the 100 m and . At the SEC Outdoor Championships, Laird won the 100 m/200 m double, while Boling finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. His time of 20.06 seconds was a personal best in the 200 m. Boling ran the anchor for Georgia's , with a slight lead but was caught by Laird and finished 2nd. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships at

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campu ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, Boling finished 6th and 5th in the 100 m and 200 m, respectively. Boling was considered a Freshman in 2021 by many, due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

causing a short season his Freshman year. Boling stayed in Eugene for the US Olympic Trials, where he finished 14th overall in the 100 m semis and 9th overall in the 200 m semis, bringing his first complete College season and first Olympic tryout to an end.

2022

At the 2022 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Boling placed 4th in the 100 m in a time of 10.13 and won the 200 m with the time of 20.01. At the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Boling placed 6th in the 100 m with a time of 10.18 and finished 2nd in the 200 m in a time of 20.13.

2023

Boling ran the third leg of the mixed relay at the

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. His team set a world record of 3:08.80 and finished first. In September, he decided to forgo his remaining year of eligibility in the NCAA to turn professional. In an interview, he reflected on his decision, citing his desire to compete on the world stage: "The atmosphere around a world championship and global meets is different. I felt so in the zone."

Professional career

2024

At the

2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships The 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships was the 19th edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the World Athletics. The event was held between 1–3 March at the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velod ...

, Boling was a member of the US team for the relay, earning a silver medal. In the 2024 US Olympic Qualifying Trials Boling made the finals in the 400 m, finishing in 8th place. In the 200 m, he did not qualify for the finals, ultimately recording the 9th fastest time. Needing a top 3 event finish, Boling failed to automatically qualify for the 2024 Olympics and was not selected for a relay team.

Statistics

*Information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal records

International competitions

National championships

*NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.

Circuit performances

Track records

As of September 2024, Boling holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.

100 metres

200 metres

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boling, Matthew 2000 births Living people Track and field athletes from Houston American male long jumpers American male sprinters Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumni Georgia Bulldogs men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen