Boling's best official 100-meter dash time is tied for the fastest ever in regular-season high school competitionGETTY IMAGES
Recent high school graduate Matthew Boling is the "vessel into which the track and field community has poured its endless hope for youthful potential that might grow into breakout relevance," according to Tim Layden of SI. On April 27, Boling ran 100 meters in 9.98 seconds at the region championships in Webster, Texas, though the tailwind was "more than twice the allowable limit for record purposes." Multiple versions of the race "each have nearly a million views." Boling's "anonymity was gone," as he made appearances on NBC, CNN and BBC. At the state meet on May 11, Boling "won the 100 in a wind-legal 10.13 seconds, tied for the fastest time ever in regular-season high school competition." If Boling "were black, his performances would have merely energized the track world." However, he is "not black; he is white." Track and Field agent Renaldo Nehemiah said, "I'm excited about an athlete who can affect the diversity and access level in the sport." Chad Collier, Boling's high school coach, said: "I've heard people compare Matthew to Tiger Woods, because Tiger inspired black kids to take up golf, and maybe Matthew inspires some white kids to try sprinting." There is also a "business aspect" to Boling's ascension. NBC track analyst Ato Boldon said, "Some shoe company could take a look and say, 'This kid is white. We're going to market that to suburbia.'" Boling is headed to the Univ. of Georgia this fall and his father, Mark, said he will "be in college for at least two years" (SI, 6/17 issue).
