Matthew Hunt

Matthew Hunt and brother Thomas Hunt have dominated 400m hurdling in Australia for two years, never being defeated. The younger Matthew, still only aged 19, took over from an injured Tom in 2026 and compiled a stunning seven months of performances that have culminated in his selection for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. In those last seven months, Matthew has won the Australian title (following his brother winning the two previous titles), claimed the Oceania title, clocked five PBs, taken over two seconds from his best time and moving from about #70 to #8 Australian All-time. His new PB of 49.33 was the fastest by an Australian for 14 years. He also won a bronze medal at the World Relays.

Since he started in the sport at age five, it has not always been smooth sailing suffering injuries along the way. He recently reflected on his athletics career: “The journey has taught me a great deal about discipline, consistency, and pushing myself to become the best athlete I can be.”

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Matthew Hunt’s journey in athletics started at age five because his older brothers were involved at Northern Suburbs Little Athletics Centre. Later on, he continued in athletics to maintain fitness for AFL. It helped him start his season very fit. “What began as a way to stay fit quickly became something I genuinely enjoyed and wanted to succeed in. Over the years, athletics became a more significant part of my life, leading me to focus on the 400m hurdles and compete at the highest levels in Australia.”

Winning Australian titles through his teens, he made his Australian team debut in 2023 at the Commonwealth Youth Games. In the under-18 400m hurdles missing the podium by 0.01 seconds, with a time of 52.37 seconds. He had clocked 51.75 second in April, when he pushed Queenslander Jack Love to the Australian U18 record time of 51.62 seconds.

Matthew did land on the podium at the CYG when winning bronze as a member of the 4x400m mixed relay.

In 2024, now an under-20 athlete, he successfully graduated to the senior height hurdles clocking five PBs on the way to running 51.59 and winning the Australian under-20 title. Selected for the World U20 Championships to be held in Lima, he clocked 52.84 seconds in the heats.

Due to injury during the next 14 months after the 2024 World Juniors, he would only compete twice. In those two competitions in April 2025, he defended his Australian U20 400m hurdles title and placed second to brother Tom at the Australian Uni Games on the Gold Coast.

Incredibly at those 2024 and 2025 Australian Championships, while Matthew was winning the U20 titles, brother Tom was winning the open 400m hurdles titles.

In November 2025 Matthew started an incredible series of performances over the next seven months. They are best summaries in a list:

-ran five PB bring his PB from 51.59 seconds to 49.33, a 2.26 second improvement

-Moving from about 70th Australian all-time to #8

-Ran the fastest time by an Australian for 14years

-Won the Australian and Oceania titles

Also over summer he destroyed his 400m PB by nearly three seconds, twice clocking 46.27 seconds.

In May he headed to Botswana with the Australia team for the World Relays.

He ran once on both the 4x400m and 4x400m mixed relays over the two days, recording relay splits of 45.83 and 44.83, helping both teams qualify for the 2027 world championships.

In June 2026 he was named on the Australian team for the 400m hurdles.

Reflections on the end of the season:

“The last two months of the season have been some of the best moments of my life. It has been a real breakthrough period, winning the National Championship in my first year, finishing third at the World Relays in Botswana for the men’s 4x400m, becoming Oceania Champion, and running a personal best of 49.33 with an Oceania meet record. Being selected for the Commonwealth Games was the cherry on top and something I am extremely proud of. Oceania was a great experience, with the heats feeling smooth and controlled. Running a PB in the heat showed me that there is still so much more I can achieve and that I have plenty of improvement ahead of me. Although the final was not my best performance, it motivated me even more because I know what I am capable of and what I can continue working towards.”

Age started athletics: when I was five years old because my older brothers were involved…Memorable sporting achievement: Winning the National Open title in my first year out of the age categories, as well as finishing third at the World Relays…Idol: Alison dos Santos because of his success in the 400m hurdles and the way he competes at the highest level. I admire his journey, he often finished third early in his career but continued to improve and developed the mindset needed to become the current best in the world…Most influential people in your career: My Mum (Michelle) and Dad (David), and my coach, Ben Liddy, have been the most influential people in my career. They have supported me throughout my journey, helped me improve, and pushed me to become the best athlete I can be. I also wouldn’t be the runner I am today without the coaches I had during my junior athletics years…Advice to your younger self: I would tell myself to establish a stride pattern earlier and to race the 400m hurdles as much as possible, because you improve every time you compete. The 400m hurdles is an event that takes time to learn, you can’t just show up and expect immediate results. You need to respect the event, learn from every race, and trust that your times will continue to improve. I would also emphasise that flat 400m speed is key to improving your hurdles performance. Don’t focus solely on hurdling, building speed and strength on the flat is what ultimately makes you a stronger 400m hurdler…Sporting ambition: to make a World Championship and/or Olympic final in the 400m hurdles. I want to keep improving my times, compete against the best athletes in the world, and put myself in a position to succeed at the highest level. I’m aiming to make the Australian team for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles…Occupation: Student and currently working full-time as a Cadet at Mirvac on the 55 Pitt Street construction team…Education: Bachelor of Construction Management (Honours) – Western Sydney University (second year of four)…Other sports: AFL and rugby at both school and club level…Interesting facts: Victoria is the only Australian state where I’ve neither competed nor won a 400m hurdles race…Biggest challenge you’ve faced: Managing the frustration that comes with hurdling. It can be mentally demanding—mistakes in training can be frustrating, and I tend to put pressure on myself to get everything perfect. However, this has also helped me build resilience and continue improving…Interesting family fact: The Hunt family (through my older brother Thomas and me) has been undefeated in the 400m hurdles in Australia since March 2024, winning the last three National Open Championships. Thomas and I also won the Open and U20 400m hurdles National Championships in consecutive years (2024–2025), and we are the only Australian brothers to have both run sub-50 seconds in the 400m hurdles.

@ 5 July 2026 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au