Matt Shirvington (born 25 October 1978) is an Australian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

who held the Australian 100m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002. Shirvington is the third fastest Australian sprinter of all time. He qualified for the 100m semi-finals in Sydney 2000, finishing 5th. Shirvington is currently a sport presenter on ''

Seven News Sydney ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are p ...

'' and host of ''

Sydney Weekender ''Sydney Weekender'' is an Australian travel show featuring destinations throughout the state of New South Wales. The program debuted in 1994 on Saturdays at 5:30pm, later moving to Sundays at the same time before the local nightly news bulleti ...

.''

Athletics

Shirvington generally competed in the

100m 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 conteste ...

200m 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 slightl ...

and 4 x 100m relay events, finding the most success in the 100m sprint. He competed in the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the

Athletics World Championships Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competit ...

from 1999 to 2007 and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2006. From 1998 Shirvington claimed five consecutive Australian national titles for the 100m sprint event. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, he broke the Australian national

record, finishing fourth in the final with a time of 10.03 seconds. Shirvington held the record until Patrick Johnson recorded 9.93 seconds in 2003. He also featured in two World Indoor Championships 60m finals.

Television

Seven Network

In 2004, Shirvington was a contestant in the first series of ''Dancing with the Stars'' and in 2005 was a presenter and reporter on ''Beyond Tomorrow'' In July 2020, Shirvington joined the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

as weekend sport presenter on ''

'', replacing Jim Wilson. He is also a fill-in host and sports presenter on ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology ...

'' and host of '' The Morning Show''. On 1 February 2021, Shirvington started hosting the competition series ''

Holey Moley ''Holey Moley'' is an American sports reality competition television series created for ABC by Chris Culvenor. The series is produced by Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media, with Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wesley Dening, Stephen Curry, Jero ...

,'' and on 7 March 2021 he started hosting the competition series ''

Ultimate Tag ''Ultimate Tag'' is an American sports entertainment obstacle course competition television series that aired on Fox from May 20 to July 29, 2020. The format is based on the game of tag and involves contestants running through various indoor obs ...

''. In January 2022,

announced that Shirvington will join as a host on ''

'', replacing the long running host Mike Whitney. In July 2022, Shirvington will be part of the commentary team for the network's coverage of the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

in Birmingham.

Sky News Australia and Foxtel

In June 2010, Shirvington joined ''

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...

'' as a sports presenter. In 2013, Matt was announced as the new host of the

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

NRL coverage and joined ''The Back Page'' as a co-host. In 2014, he co-hosted the

ASTRA Awards The ASTRA Awards were the annual awards for the Australian subscription television industry. According to the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA), the awards "recognise the wealth of talent that drives the Austral ...

with

Shaynna Blaze Shaynna Blaze (born April 1965) is an Australian interior designer, television personality, writer and former singer. She is best known for her work as a co-host on '' Selling Houses Australia'' (2008–2020) and a judge on '' The Block'' (2012 ...

. Shirvington has previously been the host of Friday Night Football on

Fox League Fox League is an Australian subscription television channel dedicated to screening rugby league (both domestic and international) matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited and is available throughout Australia on Fo ...

Other

In 2009, Matt had a cameo and one line in the third episode of :''30 Seconds''''.'' Shirvington appeared in a guest role on the Australian version of ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show '' The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash priz ...

'' in 2010.

Links with NRL clubs

St George Illawarra Dragons

In the 2012

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

pre-season, Shirvington was appointed a sprint training coach for the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

despite being a fan of the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rug ...

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

In the 2016 NRL pre-season, Shirvington signed up as a Sea Eagles member and recorded a video message encouraging other Manly supporters to either renew their membership or to sign up. Shirvington also regularly promotes the Sea Eagles via social media.

Personal life

Raised in

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ...

, a suburb of Sydney, Shirvington now spends his time between Sydney and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He attended St Martin de Porres Catholic Primary School in Davidson. He has also been a National Ambassador for

CanTeen {{Primary sources, date=February 2007 Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...

, an Australian support organisation for young children living with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

. Shirvington is married to author Jessica Shirvington. They have two daughters, and a son. They live in , New South Wales.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirvington, Matt 1978 births Australian male sprinters Australian television newsreaders and news presenters Australian game show hosts Olympic athletes of Australia People from New South Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Living people Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games