Matthew Simpson (born March 30, 1990) is an American

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded inside of it into the opponents' goal. The ball is thrown by hand a ...

player. Simpson represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

and won a silver medal.

Early life

When Simpson was about a year old, he began moving his eye in unusual ways. The doctors who first examined him believed it was a condition he would grow out of, but once he started sitting unusually close to the family television, his parents suspected a more serious condition. When he was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with a degenerative retinal condition that would eventually leave him blind. In later years, Simpson would consider learning about his diagnosis that early to be a blessing in disguise, telling an interviewer for a

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

publication in 2019, "As a kid, you don’t really think about it. You don’t dwell on it. You kind of get used to the idea of what your life is going to be like." While he was a devoted fan of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

in general and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in particular, he realized that playing it would not be an option due to his vision impairment. He first turned to swimming and running, but took to goalball once he was exposed to the sport at a summer camp at age 10. Upon returning from camp, he told his father that he would play goalball in the Paralympics. At the time, there was no goalball program in the Atlanta area, but his father started one with the help of the Georgia Blind Sports Association.

Education

Simpson graduated from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

in 2012, after which he worked in Colorado for the United States Association of Blind Athletes. After winning a silver medal at the

, Simpson attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

and graduated in 2020. He currently works as an associate for

Sidley Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigation ...

Career

Simpson first made the United States national team in 2011 while a student at Washington and Lee, going on to represent the US at the

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

and win silver medals in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. He represented the United States at the

and won a silver medal. He will again represent the United States at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Matt 1990 births Living people Male goalball players Paralympic goalball players for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in goalball Goalball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Sportspeople from Atlanta Goalball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics University of Virginia School of Law alumni Washington and Lee University alumni People associated with Sidley Austin