Matt Simpson

Started: He began playing goalball at age 10 at a US Association of Blind Athletes Sports Education Camp in North Carolina, United States of America. (americanbar.org, 01 Feb 2022) Reason: "Finding the sport meant much more than just finding a game to play. I found an outlet where I could win or lose, succeed or fail, and the only thing that didn't matter in goalball, unlike everywhere else, was how much I could see. I'd never be able to compete with my sighted peers on the basketball court, the baseball diamond or the football field. I could run on the track with the aid of a guide, but I wanted to be on a team. I wanted to compete, with no guidance from a sighted person. I wanted to win, or lose, on my own skill and ability, or lack thereof." (teamusa.org, 07 Jul 2021) Additional Info: CAREER BREAK AND RETURN After winning silver at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he took a break from the sport to return to education and took up a full-time job as a lawyer. He returned to the US national team in August 2019 at the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. "I took a break from Team USA, maybe a permanent one for all I knew. I had to find the next outlet. So, I went back to school. I picked the only career where I thought I could satisfy my competitive drive and apply the personal skills that come from training for years to be the best at something. I kept training, for fun, even as I stayed away from international competition so I could focus on school. I married an amazing woman, came back to Team USA just to see what I could do, [and] thought COVID-19 put an end to that. But much to my surprise I find myself back, about to go to the Paralympics [speaking in 2021] - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - for a second time." (reuters.com, 23 Jul 2021; teamusa.org, 07 Jul 2021; guidedogs.com, 21 Aug 2020) OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as a United States Association of Blind Athletes [USABA] sport ambassador and as a goalball representative on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Athletes' Advisory Council. (usaba.org, 02 May 2024; USABA Facebook page, 09 Nov 2016) FURTHER EDUCATION From 2017 to 2020 he studied law at the University of Virginia in the United States of America. (americanbar.org, 01 Feb 2022; reuters.com, 23 Jul 2021) OCCUPATION He works as a law clerk for the US District Court. (LinkedIn profile, 03 Jun 2024)

Sporting Relatives: His father Hal Simpson founded the Georgia Blind Sports Association in the United States of America. (cviga.org, 08 Mar 2023)