Seattle University track and field sophomore Matthew Fiso was at a training camp in Japan when his phone lit up with an unexpected text message.
Fiso received word from his coach that he had been selected as a fill-in to represent American Samoa in the World Track and Field Championships. But Fiso, who earned All-WAC second-team in the triple jump in 2025, was called upon for 100 meter sprints – not jumps.
“I got excited about that,” Fiso said. “It changed my mindset about the training I was going through. Once she told me that I was competing in the 100 meter, I transitioned to block starts, acceleration, and then about a week later, we got on a plane to go to Tokyo.”
Fiso's journey to the World Championships began early in the summer of 2025 when he received news that he had been selected to the national team to represent American Samoa. In September, he was invited to Japan for a training camp with all teams from the Oceania region.
Fiso was planning on just being in Japan for the two-week camp. When he was slotted in to compete in sprints in place of his injured teammate, it extended his stay by another two weeks – but this wasn’t to be mistaken for a vacation.
Fiso was picked up by staff from the World Championships, then was escorted through a dizzying sequence of picking up credentials, navigating the athlete hotel and interacting with athletes from around the globe – all without his coach present.
“I called Coach Ron [Atkins] and he was just telling me it’s a way to get a foot in the door,” Fiso said. “It’s an experience that not a lot of people can say they’ve done. Even if it’s an event I don’t normally do, he said ‘just run it, it’s all about the experience.’”
At a training period held at the stadium before the meet, Fiso surveyed the warm-ups of his fellow sprinters, which included 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles.
“All I could really do is take the experience and learn from all the people here,” Fiso said. “It just shows, all these big names there are just human. They just outwork everybody, so all we have to do is just put work in, more than we need to do to get to that level.”
In an event he doesn’t primarily do, in front of thousands of fans (not to mention world-champion sprinter Noah Lyles), all while in a country some 4,800 miles away from his home turf in Seattle, the 19-year-old stood unfazed when the starting pistol finally went off.
“You can’t even think,” Fiso said. “There’s no time to think, you just have to worry about running.”
Fiso showed no nerves and jumped out to a fast start, which he credits to Coach Andrea Bowman, who coached Fiso through his block starts in Tokyo.
“These block starts I did were probably the best block starts I’ve ever had,” Fiso said with an ear-to-ear grin. “I was in the lead for a good little second.”
The fast start was maintained, and on the biggest stage he’s seen yet, Fiso performed at his best, earning a PR of 11.40 and finishing sixth in heat one of the preliminary round.
Fiso’s achievement is a sign of things to come ahead of the Redhawks’ 2026 track and field season, but he’ll bring more than just a PR back to Seattle.
“I can share the energy they brought to their training,” Fiso said. “I want to share with the team how hard we have to go if we really want to get to that level, we have to do extra. I’m excited.”
Fiso will compete in sprints for Seattle U this season, but don’t misinterpret that as a retirement from jumps – which he says he still prefers.
As a freshman last season, Fiso tied the 10th-best long jump in Seattle U history, and broke the triple jump school record by over a foot. His Tokyo showing is another feat in his young career, but the best is still yet to come for the Redhawks’ young dual-threat.
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