Wikipedia

Matthew Gray (archer)

Matthew Gray (born 24 June 1973) is an Australian archer. His day job is being a water policeman. He has participated in three Olympic Games and won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Matthew Gray
Personal information
Full nameMatthew Gray
NationalityAustralian
Born (1973-06-24) 24 June 1973 (age 51)
Yea, Victoria
Height189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight86 kg (190 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportArchery
ClubSydney Olympic Park Archers
Now coachingKi Sik Lee (1998-2000)
Kathleen Gray (2000-present)
Medal record
Archery
Representing  Australia
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi Men's Team
World Field Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Italy junior men's recurve
World Field Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1994 France men's recurve
World Field Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Netherlands Men's team recurve
European Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 1998 Czech Republic Men's team recurve
World Indoor Championship
Gold medal – first place 1999 Men's team recurve

Personal

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Born in Yea, Victoria, Gray is a water policeman.[1][2][3][4][5] He is from Port Stephens.[2][6] He is married, 47, and his wife is a school teacher.[6] He has two daughters.[1] He has a nursing degree.[3] While training for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he was also doing shift work at John James Hospital in Canberra.[3]

Archery

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Gray competes in archery. His father bought him his first bow at a garage sale,[4] and he has been competing in archery for over thirty years.[1] He attributed becoming a cop with making him more aggressive as a competitor.[3] He was an Australian Institute of Sport archery scholarship holder.[7]

Gray has won several medals. At the 1988 World Field Championships in Bolzano, Italy, he won a bronze medal in the junior men's recurve event.[8] At the 1992 World Field Championships in Margraten, Netherlands, he was part of the Australian gold medal winning men's team alongside Clint Freeman and Tony Pitt Lancaster.[8] He won a bronze medal in the men's recurve event at the 1994 World Field Championships in Vertus, France.[8]

Gray placed 4th in the teams event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[9] He won a gold in the men's recurve event at the 1998 European Grand Prix in Czech Republic. His teammates included Simon Fairweather, and Scott Hunter-Russell.[8] In 1999, he won a team gold medal at the world indoor championships.[10] At the 2008 World Cup in Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, he was part of the Australian silver medal winning recurve team that.[8]

In March 2003, he was ranked the fourth best male Australian archer in recurve, ahead of Robert Turner. That month, he had 2520 points.[11] In 2010, he participated in World Cup competitions in Croatia, Turkey and China.[5] He attended a national team training camp in Canberra in September 2011.[12] He attended a national team training camp in Canberra in March 2012.[12] At the 2012 National Target Archery Championships, he finished fourth as a member of ANSW.[13]

In preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he trained in his garage.[1] He represented Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[1][3][14][15][16] He competed in the men's recurve archery team event where he took home a gold medal with a team score of 219, defeating Malaysia who were ranked third in the world at the time and had an event score of 212.[3][14][15][16] He also competed in the individual event on the final day of the competition. In the quarter finals, he went up against Chu Sian Cheng.[17] At the Games, he was coached by Simon Fairweather.[1] He was Australia's oldest competitor at the Games.[3] In 2010, he was hoping his Commonwealth Games experiences would prepare him for Olympic selection for 2012 in London.[1]

He has participated in three Olympic Games in the archery event.[4] He represented Australia in archery at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1][2] As a thirty-five-year-old, he represented Australia in archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1][2][6] He competed in both the team and individual events.[18] Children in his wife's class cheered for him at the Games and he kept in touch with the class during the Games.[6] Going into the knock out stage in the team competition, Australia was ranked ninth.[6]

In one of the early rounds of the 2008 Games, he lost to Chu Sian Cheng of Malaysia.[19] In September 2011, he was named to the Australian archery shadow Olympic team.[12] In October 2011, he participated in a 2012 Summer Olympics test event in London at the Lord's cricket ground.[20] In January 2012, he represented Australia at the 2012 Oceania Olympic qualifying event in New Zealand.[21] In March at the 2012 Olympic Games Nomination Shoot Results, he finished fourth with a score of 2587.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Elder statesman leads team to gold". The Age. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Allen, James (19 July 2008). "Archery – Sports – Olympics". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Gray matter in Aussie archery – The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "New, old archers bound for Delhi – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b Gardiner, James (11 October 2010). "Gray brings home gold – Local News – Sport – Other – Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Archery – Sports – Olympics". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Olympic Games : Australian Institute of Sport : Australian Sports Commission". Australian Institute of Sport. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Archery Australia". Archery Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Hunter Olympian Profiles". Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Media. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Commonwealth Games English archer Danielle targets CGames gold". Channel NewsAsia. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  11. ^ "National Ranking List, March 2003". Australian Archer. 10. Panania, New South Wales: Australian Archery: 29. March 2003. Print Post Publication no. PP636447/001.
  12. ^ a b c Warhurst, Lucy (5 September 2011). "Archery Australia High Performance Program Update". Archery Australia. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  13. ^ "2012 National Target Archery Championships" (PDF). Tuggeranong, Australian Capital Territory: Archery Australia. March 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ a b "Australia wins archery gold". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  15. ^ a b "How the Aussies fared on Oct 8". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Golden Aussies back archery's future – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Archers aim to end Games on a high". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  18. ^ "Kim leads archery hopes for Beijing". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  19. ^ "Archers on target early for Australia – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Aussie archers test out venue for 2012 Olympic Games". Melbourne, Australia: Herald Sun. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  21. ^ "Archers bang on target". Melbourne, Victoria: The Age. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  22. ^ "Archery Australia". Archery.org.au. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
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