Kat Matthews: Is This Her Year to Conquer Kona?

Any other year one would think the pressure would be mounting up. Kat Matthews is the master of the runner-up finish at major IRONMAN events. She was second at the IRONMAN World Championship in St. George in 2022. In 2023 she was second at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland. She was second at the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship in Talinn, Estonia in 2024, then took another second at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, where she and eventual champion Laura Philipp ran neck and neck for just over seven miles. Later that year she would take second to Taylor Knibb at the IRONMAN 70.3 worlds in Taupo, New Zealand. She and Philipp duelled again in Hamburg in 2025, where Philipp prevailed once again. Then, last year, in the crazy race here in Kona that saw Lucy Charles-Barclay and Knibb pull out in the latter stages of the race, Matthews would run her way to a close second behind Solveig Lovseth.

There’s been a lot of runner-up finishes, but there have been a lot of wins at some big races, too – just not at the worlds. She won IRONMAN Texas three years in a row (2023 – 2025). She also took IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2024, and IRONMAN New Zealand to start off her season this year. You can add numerous 70.3 wins to that impressive resume, too. All that consistency helped Matthews win the IRONMAN Pro Series in 2024 and 2025.

After that close finish in Kona last year, Matthews had to pull out of the 70.3 worlds in Marbella with a calf issue, but she started 2026 with a bang. That New Zealand win was followed by a 70.3 title in Geelong. A flat sidelined her in Texas, but she bounced back with a win at 70.3 Elsinore. Despite being sick, she still managed an impressive fourth at Challenge Roth. Following that there was an unusual off day in Nice as she dealt with a calf injury and finished 11th.

Which led to my question to start our interview at a recent press conference for her run shoe sponsor On: how difficult has it been to remain positive this season?

“I had a really good start to the season, and that’s noteworthy,” she said. “I had it in the bank, so I knew I was in good form. When I had some negative experiences, the DNF, the mechanical, and then the bad race in Roth, it became a bit of a spiral trying to find my composure. But, if I’m honest, my training is going really well. I’m grounded by the day-in, day-out knowledge that I’m in good shape. I’m enjoying every day, and when I go to bed I really want to train the next day. It’s hard to be negative when you’re thriving in life.”

For Matthews that tough start to the season, coupled with the impressive racing of her competition, has changed the dynamics for her coming into Kona this year.

“It’s easy to pick other people as the key favourites for this race,” she said. “I don’t think the expectation on me is generally lower, but I’ve stepped down slightly because other athletes are shining, and I love that. I’m more than happy with slightly lower expectations, because I actually have more expectations on myself than other people do now. That’s a wonderful place to be, because it’s me against myself rather than feeling external pressure about what other people think I should be doing. I’ll be able to execute what I think I can do. It’s nice.”

Matthews appears to be in the perfect mindset to have a great day on the Big Island. Some of that perspective comes because Matthews arrived at the sport not having grown up as an elite athlete, but finding triathlon while pursuing her career as a physio officer in the British Army.

There’s some perspective that comes from having experienced the grind of a real nine-to-five job,” she said. “I get the benefit of that experience in daily life, not in racing. I actually think a lot of the athletes I’m racing against have only ever raced, so it’s ingrained in their attitude, and I’m having to fight against that racing experience and attitude. That’s what I find hardest. There are pros and cons, but I never grew up with the Kona hype, so I don’t have it ingrained in me. I’m passionate about it, but I’m not obsessive about it, I think.”

Not obsessive, but certainly determined.

We caught up with Matthews earlier this week to check out her Canyon Speedmax and the Shimano Dura-Ace wheels she’ll be riding on Saturday: 

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