# Kat Matthews

Katrina Matthews (born 13 March 1991, née Rye) is an English professional triathlete who races in non-drafting, long-distance events. Major results include second places at the 2021 Ironman World Championship in Utah, USA, the 2024 Ironman World Championship in Nice, France, the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland and the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand. Matthews won the inaugural Ironman Pro Series in 2024. She was a member of the BMC Pro triathlon team and is a physiotherapist currently serving in the British Army under their Elite Sports Programme.

## Triathlon career

In 2018, as an amateur, Matthews won Ironman 70.3 Calgary as well as the UK National Championships later on in the year. Early in the 2019 season, Matthews won Challenge Gran Canaria as an amateur thus securing her pro licence and, as a professional went on to podium at four middle distance events including winning the ETU European Championships. This was also the year of her first Ironman, IM Western Australia where she came 4th with a debut time of 8:53:58.
In 2020 Matthews won the first post-pandemic IM 70.3 (Tallinn) and the first post-pandemic Ironman: Ironman Florida with a time of 8:40:50 (at the time the 3rd fastest ever British woman). Notably she also won the UK national 100-mile cycling TT in 3 hours and 55 minutes.
In 2021, Matthews finished fourth at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St George. In the inaugural PTO Collins Cup she had the 4th fastest time, winning her match. She also won IM UK in Bolton and came 2nd to Daniela Ryf at IM Tulsa.
In 2022, Matthews won Ironman Lanzarote 70.3 beating the reigning Ironman world champion Anne Haug by over 3 minutes. Racing in her first Ironman World Championships in St George, Utah in May 2022 she was second to Daniela Ryf. She had been invited to participate in the Sub7Sub8 challenge racing against Nicola Spirig. Matthews smashed the 8-hour 'barrier' finishing ahead of Spirig with a time of 7:31:57, the fastest ever Ironman distance time. While acclimatizing in Texas for the 2022 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, a driver drove into her resulting in very serious injuries. Once sufficiently recovered her structured rehabilitation moved to an active return to training in December. She was ranked ninth in the Professional Triathletes Organisation 2022 ranking list. Matthews was named British Army and UK Armed Forces Sportswoman of the Year 2022.
In 2023, recovered and rehabilitated, Matthews returned to racing 'grateful' to finish third at IM 70.3 Oceanside behind Tamara Jewett and the current world champion Chelsea Sodaro. and followed this 3 weeks later with a win at Ironman Texas in a new best Ironman time for a British woman of 8:32:51. In the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland, Matthews finished second to Taylor Knibb. With a win in the IM 70.3 Bahrain Matthews was ranked sixth in the Professional Triathletes Organisation 2023 world ranking list.
In 2024 with the inaugural Professional Triathletes Organisation T100 Tour and the first Ironman Pro Series she set out to be the only athlete in the world to race both series. Wins at Ironman Texas, Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz (in a new British fastest ever Ironman time of 8:24:23) and podia at T100 San Francisco, T100 London and Ironman 70.3 Tallinn set up success in both the Ironman Pro Series and the T100 Tour. In the autumn Matthews was second in the 2024 Ironman World Championship in Nice to Laura Philipp, finished the Professional Triathletes Organisation T100 World Tour in fourth place and in the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand, Matthews finished second to Taylor Knibb. With that result Matthews won the Ironman Pro Series with an overall score of 20,761 (out of 21,500 max).

## Notable results

Matthews' notable achievements include:
| Date | Event | Rank |
| 7 November 2020 | Ironman Florida | 1 |
| 23 May 2021 | Ironman Tulsa | 2 |
| 4 July 2021 | Ironman UK | 1 |
| 28 August 2021 | Collins Cup | 4 |
| 19 March 2022 | Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote | 1 |
| 6 May 2022 | 2021 Ironman World Championship | 2 |
| 22 April 2023 | Ironman Texas | 1 |
| 26 August 2023 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship | 2 |
| 27 April 2024 | Ironman Texas | 1 |
| 8 June 2024 | T100 San Francisco | 2 |
| 14 July 2024 | Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz | 1 |
| 27 July 2024 | T100 London | 3 |
| 22 September 2024 | Ironman World Championships 2024 | 2 |
| 14 December 2024 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship | 2 |

## Competitions

Tours/Series
| Year | Tour/Series | Rank |
| 2024 | T100 World Championships Tour | 4 |
| 2024 | Ironman Pro Series | 1 |

## Results

Results list :
| Date | Competition | Rank |
| 09 Jun 2019 | Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire | 3 |
| 29 Jun 2019 | Ironman 70.3 Finland | 2 |
| 05 Jul 2019 | ETU European Championships | 1 |
| 07 Sep 2019 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship Nice | 16 |
| 22 Sep 2019 | Ironman 70.3 Weymouth | 3 |
| 01 Dec 2019 | Ironman Western Australia | 4 |
| 05 Sep 2020 | Ironman 70.3 Tallinn | 1 |
| 27 Sep 2020 | Outlaw Half Nottingham | 1 |
| 07 Nov 2020 | Ironman Florida | 1 |
| 06 Dec 2020 | Challenge Daytona | DNF |
| 24 Apr 2021 | Challenge Gran Canaria | 4 |
| 23 May 2021 | Ironman Tulsa | 2 |
| 04 Jul 2021 | Ironman UK Bolton | 1 |
| 28 Aug 2021 | Collins Cup Samorin | 4 |
| 18 Sep 2021 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship St George | 4 |
| 19 Mar 2022 | Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote | 1 |
| 7 May 2022 | Ironman World Championships St George | 2 |
| 07 Aug 2022 | Ironman 70.3 Swansea | 1 |
| 20 Aug 2022 | Collins Cup Samorin | 11 |
| 17 Sep 2022 | PTO US Open Dallas | 9 |
| 01 Apr 2023 | Ironman 70.3 Oceanside | 3 |
| 22 Apr 2023 | Ironman Texas | 1 |
| 7 May 2023 | WT Long Distance Championships Ibiza | DNF |
| 05 Aug 2023 | PTO US Open Milwaukee | 7 |
| 26 Aug 2023 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship Lahti | 2 |
| 14 Oct 2023 | Ironman World Championships Kona | DNF |
| 08 Dec 2023 | Ironman 70.3 Bahrain | 1 |
| 09 Mar 2024 | T100 Miami | DNF |
| 27 Apr 2024 | Ironman Texas | 1 |
| 2 Jul 2024 | Ironman Hamburg | DNF |
| 08 Jun 2024 | T100 San Francisco | 2 |
| 14 Jul 2024 | Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz | 1 |
| 27 Jul 2024 | T100 London | 3 |
| 25 Aug 2024 | Ironman 70.3 Tallinn | 2 |
| 22 Sep 2024 | Ironman World Championships Nice | 2 |
| 28 Sep 2024 | T100 Ibiza | 13 |
| 16 Nov 2024 | T100 Final Dubai | 5 |
| 14 Dec 2023 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship Taupo | 2 |