Originally published at: Kat Matthews: Consistency Might Not Be “Super Sexy,” but it Pays Off in the End - Slowtwitch News
The way Matthews bounced back from that challenge, though, pretty much personifies her season – she got on a plane and flew to San Francisco, where she took second to Taylor Knibb at the T100 event the following weekend. She followed that up with yet another IRONMAN win at Vitoria-Gasteiz, then bounced back two weeks later to take third at T100 London.
Racing well week in and week out is one thing, but Matthews also proved to be at her very best when it counted, taking second at both the IRONMAN world championship events. So, while she is thrilled to have taken the Pro Series title (along with fourth in the T100 Triathlon World Tour), she was rightfully proud of her ability to race well when it really counted.
“This is the first year that the (Pro) series has been running,” she said. “I think in future years it will just grow and grow and grow and it will really draw people into this sort of multirace series. “I think to get second here (in Taupo) and second at the full IRONMAN (Nice), I think that’s what I’m really proud of.”
“I think consistency isn’t always super sexy, but … I’ve really peaked for the big races,” she continued, referring to her runner-up finish to Laura Philipp in Nice and then her second-place finish behind Taylor Knibb in Taupo. “So this race I really trained for and to come 1:15 behind Taylor, that’s a sort of PB for me, so it’s not just the consistency. I’ve been able to see those significant, key races as my pinnacle, key races.”

Comeback
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago we were all wondering if Matthews would ever return to the highest levels of the sport. Just 10 days before the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Matthews was hit by a car.
“She fractured her skull, two vertebrae in her neck, her sternum, a rib and she recently also discovered she’d fractured her hip socket,” the Daily Mirror reported as she prepared to return to racing in April, 2023. “By her own admission she could have died in that crash.”
While we might all be amazed at her impressive return to the highest levels of the sport, she has very much moved on.
“You know, the first six months of recovery was more about getting back to professional racing,” she said. “Now I’m better than I ever have been. That was a PB run, you know, this year I’ve put down PB bike power, PB swim, so it’s not about getting back. It’s more about genuine gratitude for being able to race and to have this as my job, and to be around so many people who love the sport – this is literally my dream.

Second Career
Matthews has surged to the top of the triathlon world after having served in the British Armed Forces for many years. It remains a key part of what drives her in triathlon.
“That community, and the support from the British army, it is fundamental and it makes me really believe I’m not just fighting for myself as an individual, I’m fighting for for everybody to get behind that ethos of trying to be your best,” she said. “It really motivates me. And we even have people here who are posted from the British army overseas in New Zealand coming to support the race. So it really fills my heart.”
2025 Racing
At the post-race press conference, Matthews made reference to trying to figure out what changes needed to be made in order to beat Knibb. I couldn’t help but ask if she thought that a reduced race schedule might help.
“To be honest, I actually feel like I’ve got fitter after every race,” Matthews said. “For this race, I don’t think I was disadvantaged by a busy racing schedule. Perhaps you could say for the full IRONMAN I need to commit to slightly different training or, you know, change something up in terms of my preparation, especially for Kona, so that’s definitely something I’m going to take into 2025, but for this specific race, no, I don’t feel like my schedule impacted it.”
All of which means we’re likely to see Matthews at a lot of races again next year. Consistency might not be sexy, but it sure can make for an impressive, and it sure doesn’t hurt the bank account.