OH Olympian visit

Mr Vic Matthews (OH 1951) visited Habs on Thursday 17 September to speak to pupils from both the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools. Vic, who now resides in New Zealand and went on to coach their national athletics team, represented Great Britain at the 1960 Rome Olympics as a hurdler, participating in 110m and 400m events.

At 11.15am, shortly after he arrived, Vic spent time with pupils from both the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools in the Old Chapel, answering their questions about his experiences at Habs and at the Olympic Games. The trio of Upper Sixth pupils, Roshan Panesar, Carolina Earle and Natania Yeshitila, were interviewing Vic for the schools’ combined Timeline project. He provided great insight into what it’s like to be a professional athlete and the honour of representing his country. On being asked about what advice he would give to aspiring athletes, Vic said: “It’s very important to enjoy it. You will have to sacrifice your time and social life to train.”

The Olympian then spoke fondly of his time at the School. Vic said: “I had a great time at Habs. It’s always been very cosmopolitan and I had the opportunity to make friends with people from different backgrounds. One classmate of mine was originally from Egypt and we became very good friends as we both enjoyed athletics and often participated together at school.”

After speaking to the Upper Sixth pupils, Vic had lunch in the Courtroom with staff as well as boys with a keen interest in athletics (Adam Shiret from Year 11 and Henry Rocha and Kit McDonagh from Year 10). Before leaving, Vic met the Headmaster and kindly donated his Great Britain 1960 Athletics Olympic blazer to the School. The day ended with the Director of Foundation, Mr Roger Llewellyn, accompanying Vic on a tour of the school’s sports facilities.

Vic was extremely generous with his time and it was a great honour to have him visit the School. All at Habs would like to thank him for coming in and for donating his blazer. Vic is always welcome back to Elstree whenever he is back in the UK.