Ironman – Kat Matthews: Emotional comeback 219 days after a serious bike accident

NOnly about 600 meters away from the scene of the accident, where she not only lost the chance to win the Hawaii victory, but almost also her sports career and above all almost her life, Kat Matthews now made her comeback. Exactly there. 219 days after the professional triathlete collided with a car during a training tour in Texas and was hospitalized with serious injuries. Looking back, she says, “The injuries could have killed me or really messed with my brain. From this perspective and because I have seen in my life how bad things can go for people, I am very grateful.”

The fact that the 32-year-old Briton was able to tackle a long distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 run) last weekend was already the first sensation. The Ironman Texas then became a feat of strength for her, during which she was challenged: fight, suffer, persevere, motivate herself again, draw new energy from somewhere in the body and above all from the head. Believe in yourself. All traits that long-distance triathletes have internalized that define themselves, that the best have perfected in their strongest moments.

And qualities that Matthews needed to get back up after her accident. And which now helped her to an emotional and impressive long-distance comeback in Texas: she finished it as the winner in the confetti rain.

Only 219 days after Matthew’s serious accident, this is a promise for her sporting future, but above all a great personal success with radiance. “I’m incredibly happy for Kat!” Says two-time Hawaii champion Patrick Lange WELT. He knows her well and was there when the accident happened. “Your journey of recovery is a great inspiration and shows that willpower can move mountains.” Matthews himself said at the finish, “Honestly, it feels incredible. It was an incredible release for me.” The greats of the scene congratulated on their Instagram page – like Jan Frodeno and the British Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee.

Matthews suffered fractures of his skull, sternum and vertebrae

Flashback to September 2022: Matthews was training in Texas for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, was in the final preparation phase and wanted to be on the podium in Kailua-Kona on October 6th. She was one of the contenders to win. Previously, in May 2022, she had already finished second at the World Cup from the previous year, which had been made up for due to the pandemic – behind Daniela Ryf from Switzerland and ahead of Anne Haug from Bayreuth.

Then came September 25th. Some professionals were already training in Hawaii at the time and were sharing their first impressions of Kailua-Kona on social media when Matthews released other photos: The pictures showed her injured in a Texas hospital, with extensive abrasions on her face and a neck brace.

Shortly before leaving for Hawaii, the British woman was hit by a car on a training tour and had a serious accident. One of the eyewitnesses was Patrick Lange, who, like Matthews, is coached by the German Björn Geesmann. “We were riding on a quiet road,” he reported to triathlete.com. A car from the opposite direction then suddenly crossed the street and hit Matthews. You had no chance to avoid the accident at high speed on the flat road. Matthews was briefly unconscious. She suffered skull, sternum and two vertebral fractures.

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Kat Matthews looked bad. But in the end she was lucky.

Scare away the demons

Without much ado, very quietly and reservedly, she turned up at the Kaila-Kona pier a few days before the Ironman Hawaii with a support corset. Nobody had expected that. The rehabilitation process that followed was intense and tough. What sounds like a trifle, she then celebrated in February: sneezing without pain. Matthews wrote on Instagram: “After the first pain-free sneeze, a second training camp and a 100-kilometer run in February, it’s time for an Ironman.” Her plan: a middle-distance triathlon at the beginning of April, then the big long-distance return in Texas , in which she gets as close to the scene of the accident as possible.

“I didn’t choose it that way on purpose. This big race is happening in Texas. I think it’s going to be tough but I don’t want to think about it,” she told Britain’s PA news agency. “The accident could have happened anywhere, but it would be great just to clear all the demons associated with it in one race and then move on. While that sounds too good to be true, I hope it feels that way.”

demons. Matthews didn’t just say the word: The accident left a mark on her. The British woman reported that the first two months in particular, when she had to wear a “spinal brace”, a type of corset for the spine, were difficult. Not knowing what will happen, whether there will be consequences. In addition: two and a half years of training for nothing, the dream of a Hawaii victory – destroyed by an accident.

“You are in control of how you deal with it”

What helped her on the way back was, among other things, her experience from before elite sport: Matthews worked as a physiotherapist in a rehabilitation center with soldiers wounded in the war. “I’ve seen all the suffering, but you think it never happens to you,” she says. “And then I go through this experience where I consider myself really lucky, firstly to be alive and secondly to have normal brain function and then also normal physical function, even to be able to perform at my best again.”

Matthews felt that he had to make a choice – and that he could: How will she deal with the accident? “Understanding that you are in control of how you deal with it was important. That the accident shouldn’t have any power over you,” she says. “I didn’t want to let a driver change my identity, what I am.” A declaration of war on myself and life. One that wasn’t always easy to follow either. But she eventually made it to the start line of the middle distance, Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, and finished third in the pro race. Then came Texas.

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It was a mixed race for her – with a grand finale. Matthews climbed out of the water in fifth place and, after cycling, started the final marathon in fourth place, but was already 9:15 behind the leader, Jocelyn McCauley. But unlike the swim and bike, Stage 3 went perfectly for Matthews that day, gradually catching up, taking the lead a few kilometers from the finish, and finally winning in 8:32:52.

Her marathon time: 2:49:32 hours. Just under seven months after the accident, she won the third Ironman race of her career. Relieved and incredibly happy, Kat Matthews closed her eyes in the confetti rain on the finish line.

“It was pretty special,” she later said. “I didn’t have a great day. A bad swim, a bad bike, but I managed to rip it out while running. I’m so happy and grateful to my entire team for getting me to the starting line. I don’t know how I made it to the finish.”