Based in York, Matthew completed his Athlete Leadership training in 2024.
He was keen to immediately put his skills to good use by joining the Athlete Leadership Team, having been the Athlete representative for the Special Olympics City of York committee, where he feeds back his experiences and ideas
Matthew came into the Special Olympics movement thanks to his sport of tennis, and he competed in the National Summer Games in Sheffield in 2017. However, six years later came the proudest moment of his career as he won gold and bronze medals at the Berlin 2023 Special Olympics World Games.
Following his Berlin experience, Matthew has been keen to develop his public speaking by giving talks in schools and to the Youth Sports Trust. He has also participated in several media opportunities and is keen to use his skills and experience by talking about the barriers that he has overcome in life to inspire others.
Having experienced a Special Olympics World Games, Athlete Leadership training and a Unified Business project with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Matthew gained the confidence to start a new job, working at The Grand Hotel in York.
He is also a Level One tennis coach and has been awarded the prestigious awards of York Sport Young Disabled Sports Person of the Year in 2019 and 2022.
Matthew would love to compete at another Special Olympics World Games, but also has aspirations to expand his work in motivational speaker and media opportunities.