March 04, 2003

Matt has been participating in triathlon for the past 6 years. He had not always been in the shape to race. Matt was overweight for most of his life, and 6 years ago he topped out at 240lbs. That all changed when he saw his brother, 2005 Ironman Canada Champion, Chris race at Ironman Hawaii.

Matt decided to give it one more try and lose the weight. He did, and a year later, and 70 lbs lighter he raced his first triathlon at Wildflower. From that point on he began to work at it and focus his life on being active and healthy.

In the past 6 years he has become one of the stronger cyclists in the sport, and when coupled with a solid swim, he often finds himself in good position when the run comes. In 2004 Matt decided to concentrate on racing only the most competitive races, and got his feet wet in what he thinks will be his strength, the Ironman distance.Matt was able to mantain very consistent good results in all his races, while setting personal best in all disciplines by considerate margins.His Ironman debut was also a success, he raced Ironman Coeur d' Alene, where he finished 7th professional!! (Not bad for never running more than 18 miles before that day!)With this result he qualified and raced at the World Championships in Kona, where he learned some useful lessons for future races on the Big Island.

2005 was a learning year for Matt as well. He got in good early season shape, but spent most of his season trying to get over a hip injury. Although he was only able to get his hip together for a couple races, he finally feels like he learned how to race the Half Iron distance, with 8th at Ralphs, and a win at Pacific Crest. Knowing that with the knowledge gained in these races will help him next year, he has decided to focus on the Half World Championships, while still racing the Ironman distance. Matt has also found a love for Mountain biking, and has decided to give Xterra a couple of goes next year.

This year Matt plans on focusing on getting his story out to the public, through talks, and columns on the internet (at trifuel.com),to see if he can inspire others to get outside and enjoy the experiences that await them.Matt�s focus will always be having fun and sharing his joy of the race with the spectators at each event.But this year he will race domestically, concentrating on Half and Full Ironman races, and solidify himself as the young American to look out for in the upcoming years. So if you see Matt out there working hard, with a big smile, give him a yell, cause he loves what he does.

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