Upper St. Clair's Josh Matheny advances to 200-meter breaststroke final at Paris Olympics

Former Upper St. Clair swimming standout Josh Matheny is one step from an Olympic medal.

Competing for Team USA, Matheny finished sixth overall (fourth in his heat) in the semifinals of the men’s 200-meter breaststroke Tuesday.

His time of 2 minutes, 9.70 seconds qualified him for the final, which will be Wednesday at 4:31 p.m. Eastern.

Matheny advanced to the semis by finishing fifth in Heat 3 of the prelims Tuesday morning. His time of 2:10.39 qualified him for the semifinals at Paris’ La Défense Arena’s Olympic swimming pool.

Matheny, 21, earned a berth to the Olympics after he finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 20, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Advancing to semifinals:

10. Josh Matheny, 2:10.39
11. Matt Fallon, 2:10.49#Paris2024 | ????: https://t.co/otSo4SdpSp pic.twitter.com/ZYDiNqUcHG

— USA Swimming News (@USASwimmingNews) July 30, 2024

The 2021 Upper St. Clair graduate just finished his junior season at Indiana University, where he was an All-American in two events and finished sixth in the NCAA in the 100-yard breaststroke.

He is a seven-time All-American in his collegiate career and a two-time NCAA medalist, as well as a three-time Big Ten champion.

In high school, Matheny won three gold medals at the PIAA meet his senior season, including capturing the 100-yard breaststroke title for the fourth year in a row with an NFHS and state-record time of 51.84 seconds. That year, he also won a fourth WPIAL title in the 100 breast and led USC to the WPIAL team title.

Upper St. Clair School District is hosting a watch party for the race from 2:30-5 p.m. Tuesday in the high school theater.

???? Let's go Josh!!!! Join us for an Olympic Watch Party from 2:30-5 p.m. this Tuesday, July 30 in the USCHS theater. Wear your red, white and blue as we cheer on 2021 USCHS graduate Josh Matheny and Team USA. ???????????????? https://t.co/OtztyN3OZG

— USC School District (@USCSchools) July 29, 2024