Former Track and Field Standout Matt Hughes Named to Team Canada's Olympic Roster
July 05, 2021 | Track & Field
TORONTO – Former University of Louisville track and field All-American and two-time NCAA national champion Matt Hughes has been named to Canada's track and field roster to compete in the 3000m steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
This marks the second Olympics for Hughes, who placed 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, achieving Canada's best-ever result in the event. He has competed in his signature race at four IAAF World Championships, setting the Canadian national record of 8:11.64 at the IAAF World Championships in 2013. Hughes also took gold at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Currently ranked No. 16 in the world, Hughes is one of only two Canadian men to meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 8:22.00 in the steeplechase. The other is John Gay, who recently achieved the feat at the Canadian Olympic Trials.
The Oshawa, Ontario native competed for the Cardinals from 2008-11 and became the first Louisville athlete to win an outdoor national title in 2010 when he captured the 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He then repeated in 2011, winning the event in 8:24.87 which still stands as the school outdoor record. Hughes was also a three-time BIG EAST champion, winning the steeplechase in 2010 and 2011 and the 5000m run.
Hughes graduated from UofL in 2012 with a degree in Health and Human Performance.
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This marks the second Olympics for Hughes, who placed 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, achieving Canada's best-ever result in the event. He has competed in his signature race at four IAAF World Championships, setting the Canadian national record of 8:11.64 at the IAAF World Championships in 2013. Hughes also took gold at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Currently ranked No. 16 in the world, Hughes is one of only two Canadian men to meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 8:22.00 in the steeplechase. The other is John Gay, who recently achieved the feat at the Canadian Olympic Trials.
The Oshawa, Ontario native competed for the Cardinals from 2008-11 and became the first Louisville athlete to win an outdoor national title in 2010 when he captured the 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He then repeated in 2011, winning the event in 8:24.87 which still stands as the school outdoor record. Hughes was also a three-time BIG EAST champion, winning the steeplechase in 2010 and 2011 and the 5000m run.
Hughes graduated from UofL in 2012 with a degree in Health and Human Performance.
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