Jesuit Dallas Athletics

There was probably at least an inkling that Matthew Thompson was about to dazzle the swimming world when soon after blowing out the candles for his 15th birthday, he beat Olympic champion and world record holder, Aaron Peirsol, in the prelims of the 100-meter backstroke at a qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic Trials. It would be the first of four Olympic Trials cuts Thompson would author by the end of his sophomore year at Jesuit Dallas, and he was just getting started.

Thompson set four meet records at the Speedo Junior National Swimming Championships as a high school junior while pacing his club team, the Dallas Mustangs, to its first national team title. With victories in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM, he was the high point scorer of the meet.

His senior year was practically flawless, as Thompson wasn’t just winning races, he was rolling elite competition. A four-time UIL state champion in the 100 back and a two-time state champion in the 200 IM, Thompson would actually improve upon his own mark in re-setting the 100 back with a time of 47.37. That same meet, he broke the boys’ independent high school national record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:45.27. Holding School records in five individual events and two relays, The Dallas Morning News tabbed him as Swimmer of the Year for the second consecutive winter, and he ended up as the UIL’s Regional Swimmer of the Year for the fourth time. 

A six-time UIL state champion, seven-time junior national champion, and 14-time NISCA/Speedo All-American, Thompson capped a dazzling high school swimming career by collecting three top-10 finishes at the 2009 U.S. World Championships.

Thompson earned a scholarship to Stanford University, where he was was a five-time NCAA All-American, PAC-12 champion, and a four-time Academic All-Pac 12 selection. A two-time semifinalist in the 200 back at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Thompson earned a Bronze medal at the 2011 U.S. National Championships.

In 2012, he finished third in the 100 back at the 2012 NCAA Championships while securing his fifth All-American honor. Thompson, who was a two-time champion at the 2018 Senior Metropolitan Short Course Winter Championships, still ranks among the top 15 in Stanford history in the 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM.