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Competitive edge makes Matheny an Olympian

By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read
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4. Josh Matheny surfaces for air during the breaststroke event. The Upper St. Clair native will compete in the 200-meter distance during the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
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3. Josh Matheny was all smiles after finishing second in the 200-meter breaststroke to gain his spot on the U.S. swim team that will compete in the Summer Olympics.
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Josh Matheny is celebrated by Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics Club. After he made the U.S. Olympic swim team, his former club created this congratulatory poster.
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1. Josh Matheny gets fitted for the official uniform the American athletes will wear as they parade into the Paris venue for the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympic Games.
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Josh Matheny is celebrated by Indiana University after qualifying for the Summer Olympic Games in the 200-meter breaststroke event.

At the age of 5, Josh Matheny of Upper St. Clair exhibited a competitive spirit that would eventually make him an Olympian.

During a mini meet, which allowed the young participants to race with floating aids, Matheny glanced to his side and saw a swimmer with a bubble on his back in the adjacent lane surging ahead. Immediately, Matheny ducked under the lane rope and blocked the progress of his opponent.

“I’m not sure it was his first ‘real win,’ but it’s one that we remember,” said Matheny’s parents, Jeff and Kristin. “To this day, we call the kid ‘Bubble Boy,’ but Josh was having none of that, losing to a kid who had an aid.”

After the race, Jeff and Kristin reproved Josh. “You can’t go into another kid’s lane,” they chided gently.

While Josh is still teased about the incident, that spirit of competitiveness helped propel him to gain a spot on the U.S. swim team that will compete in the Summer Olympic Games, beginning Friday in Paris.

“We knew then that Josh was a competitor,” Kristin said.

“He hates to lose,” Jeff added. “He’s a much better sport than he was at 5, but he still doesn’t like to lose. He loves to win.”

While winning compels Matheny, it also has earned him personal prizes, from a plethora of gold medals during his scholastic career to a bearded dragon, dubbed Gandalf, named after the wizard from “The Lord of the Rings.” The lizard was a reward for making an Olympic Trial cut time at age 14 during a Futures Meet.

“He was 10 seconds off and I’m thinking it’s never going to happen,” Kristin said. “We’re never going to have to worry about that. When he finished the race, he looked up at me and said, ‘Mom, we’re getting the bearded dragon.’ Josh once again showed his determination. I never made a bet with him again.”

Dave Schraven never doubted Matheny. Schraven coached him in high school and when he belonged to the Pitt Elite Aquatics Club before he matriculated to Indiana University. Under Schraven, Matheny became the U.S. national champion in the 200-meter breaststroke, shattering the 15-16 age group record.

“Josh has had phenomenal coaches,” Kristin said. “I remember when we were at nationals and I ran into Dave. He was dressed up in a nice shirt and when I asked him why, he said it’s because he was handing out the medals ‘and Josh is going to win.’ Josh had a coach that really believed in him.”

After that first big win on a national stage, Matheny went on to compete in the World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events and added a silver in the 4×100 medley relay.

Before the Olympic Trials, winning Junior Worlds was the most exciting event for the family, particularly because Matheny upset two Japanese men who were favored to win.

“We were not prepared for that,” said Jeff. “It was a huge moment where you are thinking, he really has a good chance to make the Olympic team. Josh was beating the top guys in the country.”

Last summer, Matheny earned a spot on the U.S. swim team that participated in the World Aquatics Championships in Japan. He qualified with personal-best times and competed in both the 100 and 200 breast events.

“All these experiences together led to the confidence that Josh has needed to perform,” said Jeff.

Matheny did, however, have to again earn his spot on Team USA. He had to place first or second in his breaststroke races during the Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which is about 51 miles from Indiana University.

Being a Hoosier has been quite different from being an Upper St. Clair Panther because in high school, Matheny seldom lost. In his senior year, he won three gold medals at the PIAA meet, including the 100-yard breaststroke title for the fourth year in a row with a NFHS and state record time of 51.84 seconds. He was named Swimmer of the Meet.

Matheny also won a fourth WPIAL title in the 100 breaststroke and led USC to the team championship. Before he left for IU, Matheny was named The 2021 Almanac/Observer-Reporter Male Athlete of the Year.

As a rising senior at IU, Matheny is a seven-time All-American, two-time NCAA medalist and three-time Big Ten champion.

“Josh was very lucky,” Kristin said. “Through about 12th grade, he didn’t lose. At each level he would win. He won Junior Worlds at 16. It was always the case that he wasn’t going to lose to the guy next to him. As he got older, there were a lot more losses. Josh gets that. With those losses, he learns what he can do better. So that doesn’t happen again.”

Although he earned a bronze medal, Matheny suffered his biggest loss when he was edged out of second place by seven hundreds of a second during the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials.

“Third is the last place you want to get,” Kristin said. “To be right there was difficult, frustrating, heartbreaking.”

“Josh had a choice though. He could mourn and be sad about what he lost or he could get up and focus on the next important point,” Jeff said.

Matheny posted on his social media accounts that morning how he was going to be like the goldfish referenced in “Ted Lasso.” For 10 seconds, he dwelt on the defeat and reconciled to “bring it” during the 200. Matheny made the most of his chance. He finished second to clinch his spot in the Olympics.

“Olympic Trials are incredibly stressful,” Kim said, “but Josh remained level-headed. His determination and focus are amazing.”

Those two factors pushed him through an even harder challenge. Matheny reached the lowest point in his swimming career only months before the Trials. During NCAA Championships, he lost to three swimmers from rival Purdue.

“It was raining outside and I remember Josh saying, ‘I’m not sure about this Olympic thing,” said Kristin. “Mentally it was a challenging weekend but Josh picked himself up. In a sport with a lot of downs, he bounced back. He picks himself up. He’s reliant and optimistic and most of all competitive.”

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