Matt set a Welsh junior record for 400m hurdles of 51.71 on his GB Junior International debut in 1997 and later that year made the European Junior final. He improved that record to 51.5 in 1998 but was unable to run at the World Juniors through injury. He returned at the end of the year to run for Wales at the Commonwealth Games and, although he did not run in the final, took home a bronze medal as he had run in the heats of the 4x400m, where his 46.2 third leg contributed to the Welsh record time of 3:03.63. In 1999 he ran a personal best 400m hurdles time of 50.84 in the heats of the European under 23s. In 2000 he won Welsh and AAA’s U23 titles at 400m hurdles, at which his season’s best was 51.16 and showed progress at the flat 400m in September when after a win in the U23 Home International he ran a pb 47.25 for 4th in the U23 international against Spain. He made big progress in the 2001 indoor season at 400m with 46.88 in his semi-final before placing 3rd in the final of the AAA’s in 46.91. He also won the Welsh title and contributed solid 400m relays legs in both heat and final at the World Indoors. Warm weather training in the USA was rewarded in his first outdoor start when he took 0.33 off his two year-old best for 400m hurdles with 50.51 at Austin and he won the Welsh 400m in 46.90. He improved his hurdles best to 50.10 in retaining his AAA’s U23 title and ducked under 50 seconds for the first time in the heats of the European U23 Championships with 49.90 and excelled to take the gold medal in 49.57, adding a second gold when he anchored the 4x400m team.

Matt joined the rest of his “Team Linford” training group on Australia’s Gold Coast for the winter of 2002 and in a test to see how well training was going competed in a local race and surprised even himself when he finished 2nd in a time of 49.77, just outside his personal best. Matt’s first race back in the UK was at the Aqua Pura invitation in Loughborough where he won the 400m in 47.01 before winning the Welsh Championships in Newport in a personal best of 46.59. Having confirmed that his winter training had gone well, Matt returned to the 400m hurdles at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Manchester, where he ran 49.73 in the heat and 49.46 to win in the Final.