CARLOS MATTHEWS: The 51-year-old native of Huntsville is clearly one of the top local athletes in the 50-plus spectrum

By Bob Labbe | Photos by Joshua Berry | Living 50 Plus

Carlos Mathews strives to be the best he can be while being an enormous inspiration to others. Those two facets of his life help drive him not only in his work of a business owner specializing in hosting government contracts, but as an athlete in the sport of track and field.

The native of Huntsville, the 51-year-old Mathews is clearly one of the top athletes in the 50-plus spectrum of local athletics. His elite performances have given him immense success in numerous events as he currently holds three National Championships in the Master’s Division of track and field. He won the 2014 title in the triple jump and both the 2023 and 2024 national title in the long jump. His efforts have made him one of the most decorated athletes in Alabama.

Earlier in 2024 with 10 years of competing in the Alabama State Games under his belt and coming away with countless medals from the annual competition, Mathews was one of four athletes selected as Alabama State Games Athletes of the Year so recognized by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. He has been a part of the track and field community for more than 40 years beginning to showcase his athletic talent in middle school followed by graduating from Huntsville High in 1991 and later from Alabama A&M in 1995 with a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. While attending both schools, he was an outstanding track and field athlete receiving accolades in both the 100-meter and long jump events, even earning some of the best results in both events in school history.

Mathews is married to his wife, Jameen, who in her own right is an outstanding track and field athlete. She recently was part of Team USA at the 25th annual World Masters Athletics Championships held in Sweden where she won a bronze medal in the 4X100 relay. Mathews has been a longtime business owner with his current company CM Advanced Technologies a big player in local government contracts. He’s also Vice President and District 5 representative on the Huntsville City School Board. He grew up in North Huntsville and has coached on the high school and college level at several local prep schools and at his alma mater, Alabama A&M, and at UAH. His experience in football included being the head coach of the Madison Generals semi-pro team from 2014-2019 and owner of the Tennessee Valley Tigers women’s team from 2009-2014.

Always living with a competitive edge in whatever he attempted, Mathews aspires to excel in any endeavor, especially in sports. “For me, after college I had nowhere to run and I stopped doing so for two years, put on some weight and I soon decided to get back into running for health reasons,” said Mathews. “Now, I run as an inspiration for others to get up off the couch and do something constructive and healthy.”

In 1997, according to Mathews, “I went full-bore right off the bat,” in the competing of track and field events, but the trek wasn’t easy. He first attempted to compete in an indoor track meet in Tennessee running the 200-meter event. He stepped to the start line with all the confidence needed to run well, but by the time the race ended he knew right away he was not in good condition for the sprint and realized he was going to have to improve his athletic conditioning if he wanted to compete at that level. “I did this myself most of the time and began to prepare myself for the endeavor I knew I was going to undergo. I even became Level 1 certified in coaching in 1998 through a class and test from Vanderbilt University. I made plans to compete again. Coaching other athletes allowed me to workout myself and have an edge in competitions.”

His best marks in the three main events he competes in while in the Masters 50-plus division include the 100 meter: 12.08 seconds, triple jump: 10.48 meters, long jump: 5.33 meters. At the Alabama State Games, Mathews has won 10 gold medals in the long jump and seven gold medals in the 100-meter sprint.

The track season of 2023 is one Mathews will never forget as he won medals at the Alabama State Games and qualified for the National Championships, but in between those huge events he suffered a near-death incident. Traveling down James Record Road, he was T-boned by another vehicle at an intersection. He walked away from the accident but was soon taken to a local hospital where it was determined he suffered a head injury. The accident and injury did stop him as he was soon attending the national event in full stride.

“I like the journey of working toward my goals and the work I put into my goals, and I love my progress to be better than the day before,” said Mathews. “I consider this to be a blessing for me, to be able to compete as I do. I work out by running and or with weights four days a week and people see me in this effort. I hope I inspire them in some positive way.”

Mathews has hade inspirations of his own with his world travels meeting athletes of all ages and caliber of athletes. He spoke of a 75-year old woman he met who was a high jumper and an instant inspiration for his own efforts. He once met a 90-year old grandmother from India whose son was in his seventies, and a grandson in his forties all of whom were competing in the same championship competitions. “I realized then, people are seeing me and I could be an inspiration to others,” added Mathews.

The superior athlete stated he will compete until the wheels fall off. In the meantime, he’s also shown you’re never too old, to feel young.