Two in a row: Penn alumnus Sam Mattis to feature at his second Olympics in the discus throw

The 2016 Wharton graduate, who holds the program record in the discus throw, finished second at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials to qualify for his second straight Olympic team.

For many Penn students, landing a post-grad job on Wall Street is a dream come true. However, 2016 Wharton graduate Sam Mattis couldn’t agree less. Trading in a financially stable career for more uncertain waters, Mattis turned down an offer to work full-time at JPMorgan Chase & Co. upon graduating to pursue his dream of becoming a U.S. Olympian.

In a journey that spans 15 years, Mattis has managed to do just that not just once, but, with the most recent U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, twice.

The road to his first Olympics wasn’t easy. To support his full-time discus throwing career, Mattis worked a series of odd jobs, including marketing for Esterbrook Pharmacy, Chute Laundry, and PARITY while also partaking in online gambling via sports betting and blackjack to make ends meet. To gain access to nicer track and field facilities to further his training, Mattis worked briefly as a volunteer assistant coach at Rutgers University until the COVID-19 pandemic halted all athletic activities in 2020. 

The financial sacrifices Mattis made in pursuit of being a discus star ultimately paid their dividends. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Mattis was the only American to advance to the finals round in the event. At the U.S. Olympic Trials leading up to Tokyo, Mattis managed to trade in his red and blue for red, white, and blue with a third-place finish in the men’s discus.

In Tokyo, Mattis made history by becoming the first American to reach the finals in the discus throw. There, Mattis finished in eighth. With the taste of success, Mattis has returned hungry for more, turning his attention toward making his second straight Olympic team. 

Entering the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials ranked 13th in the world and as the number one American this year, Mattis put himself in a position to succeed. A throw of 66.07 meters in the finals landed him in second place. Typically, the top three athletes to place secure their spots on the team. However, Mattis did not meet the Olympic standard of 67.20 meters. Instead, Mattis had to wait a little longer before he could make it official, qualifying based on his World Athletics ranking.

“Going into this Olympics, I think knowing how much better I am gives me a lot of confidence,” Mattis said, “If I can make a final [at] the worst shape I had been in as a professional, and right now, I'm close to the best shape that I've been in — I'm just super excited and excited to see what I can do.”

Making one Olympics team is hard. Making two is even harder. But for those who have followed Mattis since his high school days, there is no surprise in how far he has come as a track and field athlete. 

Mattis first took up discus throw when he was 15. Quickly discovering he had a knack for the sport, Mattis improved drastically throughout his high school career. Combined with consistently getting great grades, Mattis had the pick of the litter when it came to where he wanted to go to college. At this point, academics were a priority — the idea of becoming a professional athlete was not on his radar — and Penn was the natural choice for Mattis.

“I didn't think that I would be a professional athlete, even if I wanted to be one in the back of my mind,” Mattis said. “So I just chose a school that I thought would set me up for a good career … and [I] chose Penn, and here I am, 10 years later, not using my degree, but I still made plenty of great friends there.”

At Penn, Mattis excelled on the field. In his freshman season, Mattis took home the top spot in the discus throw at the Ivy League Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The following year, Mattis not only defended his title but also placed fifth at the 2014 NCAA National Championships. It was his junior year, though, that ultimately changed the course of his career.

One of Mattis’s best seasons as a track and field athlete saw him not only earn his third straight Ivy League title in the event but also become a national champion as he took home the gold at the 2015 NCAA National Championships. That same summer, Mattis was interning at JPMorgan Chase. Coming off the high of such a large victory, the decision to go pro was a no brainer for Mattis, especially with the 2016 Olympics right around the corner. 

“​​After winning [the] NCAAs, I realized I had a chance to actually be a professional, and the Olympics were coming out the next year anyway, so I was like, ‘I'm going to go for this,’” Mattis said. “I’m super happy about it and glad it worked out. But I think it was the right decision.”

In his final year wearing the Red and Blue, Mattis won his fourth straight Ivy League title and placed second at the 2016 NCAA National Championships. The three-time first team All-American would leave behind a legacy for the history books for Penn’s program. Mattis’s best collegiate throw of 67.45 meters is still a program best and is also still the current record for an American competing at the collegiate level.

Despite the individual success that Mattis has seen throughout his career, he remains grounded and appreciative of the support he has received from those around him to get him where he is today. In addition to his family and partner, Mattis expressed immense gratitude to former Penn throwing coach Tony Tenisci, who passed away last October. 

“He always wanted to go to an Olympics with me and see me compete,” Mattis said about Tenisci. “So I know he'll be watching, but it just won’t be the same.”

With one Games’s worth of experience under his belt, Mattis is eager to return to the biggest stage. Since the Tokyo Olympics were post-COVID-19, Mattis missed out on the experience of competing in a stadium packed full with spectators. While most would be apprehensive of this added pressure, Mattis welcomes it. 

“Feeling that pressure and performing through it — and with it — especially in a stadium where there are thousands of people watching, is a really, really cool feeling that I don't think is really replicated by anything else in life,” Mattis said.

When asked if he has any regrets with turning down a more financially stable career, Mattis didn’t hesitate to respond in the negative. For him, there wasn’t any other possibility.

“​​I've gotten to travel the world doing track and learned more about things outside of finance that a professional career can't really teach you,” Mattis said. “I've learned a lot about myself, and it's been a really amazing experience. I'm lucky it ended up that way, but I'm happy that I made the choice regardless.”

After becoming just the second Penn track and field athlete to feature at the Olympics in half a century and the first Quaker track and field athlete representing the U.S. since 1976 at Tokyo, Mattis will have some company at this year’s Games. Recent graduate Bella Whittaker and 2020 graduate Nia Akins have also secured their tickets to Paris in the 400-meter relay pool and 800 meter, respectively.

The Olympic Games are set to kick off in Paris with the opening ceremony slated for July 26. Track and field events will be held from August 1 to August 11, with the qualifying round for men’s discus set to take place in the afternoon of August 5 and the final to be held two days later.