June 10, 2008
Vancouver, British Columbia — Vanderbilt senior Matt Long finished fourth at his first ITU Triathlon World Championship for athletes in the 20-24 age group. Remarkably, Long has been participating in triathlons for less than one year and did not have the benefit of one of his strongest events, the 1500 meter swim. Weather conditions in Vancouver forced organizers to cancel the swim as the athletes were lining up and replace it with a 3K run followed by the usual 40K bike ride and 10K run.
Long was part of group of young participants who gave Team USA one of its strongest finishes ever in the World Championships. “It was awesome to be part of a team effort wearing the USA uniform. We all worked together and were able to deal with the last second cancellation of the swim and move to the new start position for the first run after we got out of our wet suits,” said Long. “I was honored to represent my country. I want to thank all the people who helped me make it to the World Championships,” he added.
Long had an especially strong finish. He began the final run in 12th position and sliced through the crowded field to move to 4th place. Fellow Team USA member Tony White, an exceptional biker, took first place followed by two members of Team New Zealand.
Long now turns his focus for the bulk of the summer to the USA Triathlon development camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Matt was invited along with a select group of young triathletes to spend his summer training as part of the 2012 Olympic Talent Development program.
Matt will return to Vanderbilt University this fall for his senior season on the cross country team and complete his undergraduate studies.
