Burgeoning track and field athlete Andrew Mathews is set for big things both on and off the athletic arena. A person particularly gifted behind the lens, Andrew has set his sights on becoming a famous photographer. Firstly, though, he has set himself on qualifying for his maiden Paralympic Games at London 2012.

Born with an intellectual disability, Andrew’s lead in form to the London 2012 Games has been nothing short of impressive. He won silver and bronze at the 2011 National Championships before going on to take home two gold and two bronze from a highly successful 2011 Arafura Games. Previously, Andrew was part of the 4x100m national team that broke the Australian record at the 2009 Global Games in the Czech Republic.

Based at Port Adelaide Athletics Club, Andrew has been coached by Steve Butler for the past four years. While the track events are not on the London 2012 program in Andrew’s area of classification, he is aiming to make the Australian team in the long jump event.

Andrew is currently completing a Certificate IV course in photo imaging and plans to use this to great effect in future years. Aside from photography, he also enjoys his time spent on Facebook, listening to music and catching up with friends. Andrew doesn’t mind watching the odd movie either, listing Never Ending Story and Cutting Edge as his top rating films.