Kat Matthews facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Katrina Matthews

Katrina Matthews at IM UK in 2021
Personal information
Born	(1991-03-13) 13 March 1991 (age 33) Exmouth, Devon, England
Height	165cm
Weight	58kg
Sport
Country	UK
Team	CANYON p/b HUUB
Turned pro	2019
Coached by	Björn Geesmann
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Ironman: 8:24:23 (2024) Ironman 70.3: 3:57:04(2023)
Medal record Women's triathlon Representing  Great Britain Women's triathlon Ironman Silver 2021 St George Individual Silver 2024 Nice Individual Ironman 70.3 Silver 2023 Lahti Individual

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, and the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland. She was a member of the BMC Pro triathlon team 2020–2022 and is a physiotherapist working for the British Army.

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 Sportswoman of the Year 2022.

In 2023, recovered and rehabilitated, Matthews returned to racing 'grateful' to finish a remarkable third at IM 70.3 Oceanside behind Tamara Jewett and the current world champion Chelsea Sodaro. She 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 70.3 Tallinn have assured success in both the Ironman Pro Series and the T100 Tour. In September Matthews was second in the 2024 Ironman World Championship in Nice to Laura Philipp.

Notable results

Some of Matthews' notable achievements include:

Competitions

Matthews’ race results are: