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| 10/7/2004 | Email this article • Print this article | Olympic medalist homecoming
Matt Hemingway says he wasn't very popular in high school.
"I was just a scrawny kid who could jump," he said over
coffee in Buena Vista at Bongo Billy's the morning of Friday,
Oct. 1, a day on which, without a doubt, he was the most
popular guy in town.
On a day jam-packed with activities honoring his
achievement of winning the silver medal in the high jump at
the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the 1991
Buena Vista High School graduate said, "It's great to come
back to where it all started." Meeting with reporters,
speaking at the schools, riding on a float in a Main Street
parade, signing autographs, receiving a key to the city, and
seeing many old friends and new fans were a few of the
activities on Hemingway's schedule, during Buena Vista
High School's annual homecoming weekend.
He attended BV schools since second grade. Joining Matt for
breakfast were his wife, Kate, originally from Wisconsin;
their niece, Kaydi Fuccillo, who lives with them in Littleton
and who is a senior at Chatfield High School; and Matt's
brother, Josh, a 1994 Buena Vista High School grad.
Josh is part of a Denver band called Yellow Second, which
includes another BV grad, Scott Kerr of the class of 1992.
Matt and Kate met as students at the University of Arkansas
and have been married for over six years. Matt has two
sisters, Laura Zeron, who graduated from BVHS in 1985;
and Beki Hemingway, a singer/songwriter, who graduated
in 1987. Their father, Tom, died in 2000 and their mom,
Sarah, now lives in South Carolina.
Hemingway will turn 32 on Oct. 24, and is older than what
people expect an Olympic athlete to be, but he said, "Most
people think I'm 25 or 26. Who cares I can go out there
and do what I need to do."
He is sponsored by Adidas. The company provides him with
equipment and clothing and makes custom size-13 shoes
for him. The shoes he wore in the Olympics will go into a
Switzerland museum, he said.
It hasn't been an easy road on the way to the silver medal,
he said, but he has found "enormous comfort" in his
Christian faith. "My faith has held me strong. The ability to
jump is a gift from God," he said. His message to kids is
about his journey, setting goals and working hard toward
them. "If you don't work hard, you'll never get there," he
said.
What does he tell people about his hometown? "I tell them
it's a small one-stoplight town, at 8,000 feet, and they take
that as kind of strange. I tell them it's a really beautiful
place."
When asked about his most memorable experiences in
Athens, Matt listed as number one "seeing my wife for the
first time after winning the silver medal." Meeting the
members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team and those on
the Iraqi Olympic team were other highlights of his Olympic
experience.
About his future, Hemingway said, "I'll continue to
compete." He will continue to compete on the professional
circuit in Europe for prize money in countries including
Germany, Sweden, Finland, France, Switzerland and Italy.
"I've been all over," he said. "One year I traveled 60
thousand miles."
Fans and friends of Hemingway can keep up with him by
visiting his Web site, matthemingway.com, where links to
his siblings' Web sites can be found.
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