Junior Sportsman of the Year Matty Hickman on a dream run
R ising track talent Matty Hickman is making a timely run towards the national podium following a late start in athletics. Recognised as the Christ’s College Junior Sportsman of the Year in 2021, Matty, 16, started to power up on the track last year. “I did a bit of athletics in Year 9 after first trying it, liking it and finding that I was not too bad at it before doing it more seriously in Year 10,” he says. Matty also credits College coach Graeme Christey for his training and encouraging the promising runner to excel. An 800m and 1500m specialist, Matty made the podium in both events at the Canterbury and South Island schools’ athletics championships last year. He also won the U16 Canterbury schools’ road race and finished in the top 10 in the cross-country event. “After competing in secondary school and South Island competitions, I was surprised with how I did,” he says. “I saw what I could do if I trained more outside
of school and as the season went on, I got better. Sports tutor Jimmy Healy has really helped with my strength and conditioning. “I saw a lot of improvement and realised I might be able to achieve at a national level.” Matty is now chasing a national title or podium spot at the 2022
200m and 500m races. At College last year, he was the junior athletics champion and cross-country champion, along with finishing second overall in the junior swimming championships. Matty was also a member of the U15A Rugby team – joint winner of the Section One grade; the U15 Grey Basketball team, and a starting player in the Senior A Water Polo team. “College has been a big help with my sport and academic work,” Matty says. Aside from sport, Matty is interested in the business environment and is studying Maths, Biology, Economics, Accounting, Financial Literacy, and Business. Long-term, Matty plans to chase a sports scholarship at a university in the United States. “It would be good to run for a university over there. Their sports programmes are great and there are lots of opportunities to do well in athletics.”
New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in the 800m event.
“In December last year, I ran 2min 3sec for the 800m, and am hoping to break 2 minutes as soon as possible,” he says. Despite the Covid-19 disruptions, Matty hopes the nationals will be held this year, as he has worked on his speed and skills over summer and longer-distance running over winter. Away from the track, Matty is also the 2021 Canterbury and South Island U15 champion in surf lifesaving and has earned two silver medals at the National Kayak Sprint regatta in the U16 K4
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