Matthew Wright (born 13 May 1992) is a Barbadian triathlete. He qualified to represent Barbados at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

Biography

Wright was born in 1992 in Barbados, and grew up there. When young, he competed in multiple sports, including swimming,

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. While in primary school, he tried out triathlon for the first time at a youth tournament organized by the Triathlon Association of Barbados. He then competed at triathlon events monthly and began focusing on the sport fully from age 16. Wright made his international debut at the 2009 Oklahoma PATCO in the junior division, placing 43rd. After continuing to compete in junior international competitions through 2011, Wright began attending

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

in England. After he graduated from there, he joined a triathlon club in Canada. Wright and Jason Wilson represented Barbados at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in triathlon, with Wright placing 20th. He also competed at the

2014 ITU World Triathlon Series The 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series was a series of eight World Championship Triathlon events that lead up to a Grand Final held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, th ...

Grand Final and later competed at the

2015 ITU World Triathlon Series The 2015 ITU World Triathlon Series is a series of ten World Championship Triathlon events that lead up to a Grand Final held in Chicago. The Series is organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, the International Triath ...

; he participated in a total of 19 international competitions from 2014 to 2016, with his best placement being at the 2015 Bridgetown CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup, where he was fourth. After opening the 2017 season with three top 10 finishes at ITU Continental events, he was injured at the Bridgetown CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup and Caribbean and Central American Championship (where he placed eighth), which resulted in him missing several competitions, although he was able to win the Canadian Esprit de Montreal tournament towards the end of the year. Wright contacted a friend from Loughborough in 2018, which resulted in him joining the club National Triathlon Performance Centre Wales in 2019. In 2018, Wright competed for Barbados at the Commonwealth Games, placing 25th, competed at the

2018 Central American and Caribbean Games The 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Barranquilla, Colombia. Asamblea ODECABE, Islas Caimán' (translation: "CASCO Assembly, Cayman Islands"). Published by CACSO on 2012-10-27; retrieved 2012-11-13. Bidding process Quetz ...

, and he later placed 10th at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

. He also won the Barbadian national championship in 2019. He attempted to qualify 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 ...

, but was unsuccessful due to injuries. Wright competed at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, where he was the co-flagbearer, and placed 17th. Later that year, he won his first international competition at the age of 30, winning gold at the Asia Triathlon Cup in Aqaba, Jordan. His win moved him up from a World Triathlon ranking of 308 to a ranking of 193. He opened the 2023 season with three medals in three events, including gold at the Africa Triathlon Cup in Egypt. He later won a bronze medal at the

2023 Central American and Caribbean Games The 24th Central American and Caribbean Games are scheduled to take place in 2023. They were planned to take place in Panama City, Panama, until the government announced on 24 July 2020 that it had decided to withdraw as the hosts as a result of ...

in July and gold at the Americas Triathlon Sprint Championships in September, increasing his global ranking to 60th. He also participated at the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2023, links=no), officially the XIX Pan American Games and commonly known as Santiago 2023, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, s ...

, coming in 10th. Wright placed 41st at the

World Triathlon Championship Series The World Triathlon Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head- ...

in 2024, which qualified him for the

in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Matthew 1992 births Living people Barbadian male triathletes Olympic triathletes for Barbados Alumni of Loughborough University Triathletes at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2019 Pan American Games Triathletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2023 Pan American Games Triathletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics