Matthew Forgues (born April 17, 1992) is an American

racewalker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

. Forgues earned gold for the

50 kilometres race walk The 50 kilometre race walk was an Olympic athletics event that first appeared in 1932 and made its final Olympic appearance in 2021. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the ...

at the

2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships were held at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place from July 25–28 and served as the national cha ...

. Forgues was runner up in the 50 km walk at the 2020 United States Olympic Trials in Santee, California in a time of 4:14:42.

Early life and education

Forgues was born on April 17, 1992, in from Boothbay, Maine, to Linda and Michael Forgues. He began racewalking at seven years old. His older sister Lauren is also a racewalker. Forgues attended Boothbay Region High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Goucher College in 2014. While at Goucher, Forgues studied abroad in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

, where he ran in the

Santiago Marathon The Santiago Marathon ( es, Maratón de Santiago) is an annual event first run in 2007 through the streets of Santiago Chile. Other races include a half marathon and a 10K run. The marathon held the IAAF Road Race Label Events, IAAF Road Race Bro ...

Career

In 2010, Forgues earned a spot on the U.S. junior national racewalk team. In 2011, Forgues came in fourth in NAIA's 5,000-meter championships. He placed fifth in the 50 kilometer race walk at the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

. At the 2016 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he placed fourth. He earned third at the same event in 2017. In September 2017, Forgues won the 40 kilometer racewalk at the National Championships. Forgues earned silver for the

at the

2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 21–24 and serves as the national champ ...

. In an international competition in Monterrey, Mexico, he came in 8th place. In January 2019, Forgues won his first 50km National title at the 2019 USA 50km Race Walk Championships. Forgues is currently training for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. After college graduation, Forgues taught at

Standing Rock Indian Reservation The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaksa ...

where he resumed racewalking. He is a full-time educator at

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Achievements

Personal life

Forgues ran a marathon in New York. He is gay and married to Manuel Martinez. He is

lactose intolerant Lactose intolerance is a common condition caused by a decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pai ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forgues, Matthew American male racewalkers Living people 21st-century American educators People from Boothbay, Maine Goucher College alumni American male marathon runners 1992 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States LGBT people from Maine American gay sportsmen