[Pcalumnixctrack] Former Friar Julian Matthews To Compete For New Zealand In The 1, 500 in the Olympic Games

[Parks, Arthur]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Arthur Parks 401-865-2759



Former Friar Julian Matthews To Compete For New Zealand In The 1,500 in the Olympic Games



PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Former Providence College track and cross country standout Julian Matthews ’13 will compete in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. Matthews (Nelson, New Zealand) will run the 1,500 meters for New Zealand.

               Matthews will become the 18th Friar to run in the Olympics. Over the years, Friar athletes have competed in 33 events in track. In 2012, former Friars Kim Smith (Marathon), Stephanie Reilly (3,000 Meter Steeplechase), and Dylan Wykes (Marathon) competed in the Summer Olympics in London. Former Friar John Treacy ‘78 captured a silver medal for Ireland in the Marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

               Matthews qualified for the New Zealand team after running a 1,500 time of 3:36.14. It will mark his first appearance at the Olympic Games.

               “I am delighted that Julian can carry on the tradition of Friar track Olympians, who have competed in every Olympiad since 1980,” Providence College Head Coach Ray Treacy said.

As a Friar, Matthews was a three-time All-American. He earned two All-America honors in the indoor mile (2011, 2013) and one All-America accolade in the outdoor 1,500 meters (2011). Over his four years at Providence College he won two BIG EAST titles, one for the indoor 1,000 meters in 2013, and one as a member of the distance medley team that captured the BIG EAST Indoor Championship in 2012.

 The first round of the 1,500 meter will be broadcast on www.nbcsports.com<http://www.nbcsports.com> or on the NBC Live Extra app, on August 16th at 9:30 pm EDT. The final will be broadcast on August 20th at 8:00 pm EDT. ​



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