How to overcome adversity and return to triathlon stronger

There could be no better way for GB pro triathlete Kat Mathews to make her comeback. In her own words, the 
Army physio is determined to “stick 
two fingers up” to what happened in Texas in September last year – by returning to 
the Lone Star State to try and qualify 
for the Big Island once more.

[And stick them up she did, winning Ironman Texas just three weeks after finishing third at 70.3 Oceanside in April. Note: we spoke to Kat and Tom in February.]

Matthews’ bike crash in Montgomery County, blindsided by a motorist who turned directly across her path, was life-threatening.

That 
she’d finished second in the Ironman World Championship in Utah in May, and was in the final throes of training for her Hawaii debut, was inconsequential. Messages from the triathlon world poured in, just wanting her to be okay.

Thankfully, as she flies past in the Derby Velodrome, barely breaking sweat when generating Ironman power, she’s looking more than okay. This might not be the Kat Matthews Version 2022 who stopped an iron-distance clock in 7:31:54 in Germany in June, but with a few battle scars notwithstanding, she’s heading in that direction.

“My favourite word at the moment is turbulent,” Matthews says. Having interviewed the 32-year-old several times, I’ve learnt she chooses her words carefully. But this one has stuck.

“A lot of turbulent emotions this last 12 hours,” was also the start of an Instagram post from her hospital bed in Texas after initially having fractures of the skull, sternum and two vertebrae diagnosed.

“Everybody knows that the journey from injury to fitness is not linear, but I think that with trauma there are so many hidden issues that don’t come to light straight away,” she continues.

“For example, I recently found out I also fractured my hip and rib, [only discovered when the scans were reviewed by a military radiologist], but I’ll give myself credit for clearly being intuitive with recovery.

“You also don’t know the extent of the soft tissue damage and with a skull, neck and back injury there are hundreds of ligaments doing many different things.”

Jump in confidence

Having left a successful 
stint with Team BMC at the 
end of last year [Matthews has joined the Bahrain Victorious 13 team for 2023], Matthews has more freedom to sign individual sponsors, and the trip to Derby – a brief drive from a new 
home near Loughborough 
– is to help customise the 
Huub tri-suit (or tri-suits, 
if her races have substantially different demands) that 
she’ll be wearing for the upcoming season.

She’s also pushing the pedals on a shiny new Canyon Speedmax, the chariot of three-time Ironman world champion, Jan Frodeno.

“I was nervous about coming because it’s only my second time in a velodrome and I’m on a new bike which I haven’t ridden a lot outside,” Matthews says. “But I just went for it on the first lap and it’s been totally fine, which is a massive jump in confidence.”

Fitness is returning, although 3min bursts at Ironman effort is unlikely to overly tax an athlete who’s used to holding those watts for 4.5hrs. In truth, Matthews is probably more challenged by the wardrobe changes, around eight, as she whips through a range of tri-suits that have already been tailored to her.

The task is a “big problem-solving exercise,” according to Jacob Tipper, Huub’s head of research and development, and an analyst at aero-testing specialists WattShop.

“We’ve 
got a matrix of things we’re testing. The first 
rule of aero is that the arm fabric makes a massive difference. We’ve already done a 
lot of testing in the fabric wind tunnel at Silverstone and some will be faster at different speeds and different air densities.

“We know what Kat’s upper arm circumference is, we know what speed she’s racing, and we know what conditions she’s 
racing in, so we’ve selected the three fastest fabrics for her.

“From an overly simplified viewpoint, we’re seeing how fast she’s going 
for how much power she’s putting out. If she’s going faster for less power, she’s more aero.

“But we use professional software that breaks the calculation down second-by-second, so at any given moment we know variables such as her speed, weight, inertia and gravity.”

Trackside sewing machines

Testing is all about isolating variables so for 
this session Matthews has been asked to lock in target Ironman speed for each of her 250m laps. After 11 circuits she then breaks and changes 
tri-suits while fellow GB triathlete and today’s test partner Tom Bishop takes to the track.

A local Derby lad, Tom – who has competed 
in the Commonwealth Games for England 
and whose best performance on the top tier World Triathlon Series was second in Abu Dhabi in 2017 – has been given an unprecedented ‘career-long’ sponsorship deal with Huub.

Today is about working on tweaks to his riding position rather than kit choice. That’s probably just as well because unlike the triathletes, two individuals who don’t get a moment’s rest are Bea Russell and Alice Haspel, whose skilled seaming skills are on show as the pair sit trackside with sewing machines to tailor the tri-suits in double-quick time using various fabrics with different textures, knits and weaves from different Italian mills.

Matthews will also give feedback because however aero any given fabric tests, any gains will be quickly wasted if the triathlete isn’t comfortable.

It’s worth noting that this is only one stage in the process of engineering a bespoke tri-suit. Thermodynamics (will it keep you cool?) and hydrodynamics (will it glide through the water?) are other considerations.

Then there are hydrophobic coatings that can be added to repel water, and polymers used in the weave to distribute heat more efficiently. As Tipper says: 
“All problems to be solved.”

One problem that, thankfully, looks to be solved 
is Kat’s return to the pool. “It’s been miraculous. It should be the worst [after the crash] because of the thoracic rotation, but I’m surprised 
how well swimming has 
been going,” she says.

“I 
used the snorkel a lot covering minimal distance, but have been consistent with drills because I was motivated to 
find performance gains 
in technique.”

Okay with it being a bit rubbish

The cycling has seen steady progression week-on-week, but a return to the run form that saw Matthews clock a 2:46:09 marathon in the Sub8 project may need a little more patience.

“It’s much more complex, it’s weight bearing, and has been the slowest to be consistent. I’m still in a development stage of about 25km a week. So not last year’s Kat Matthews, but maybe the 2019 version.”

What does she feel she’s learnt from the past six months?

“Honestly, I’m yet to feel as if I’m in a position to answer that. Until I start winning I don’t feel I’ve any right to say. But I’ve worked hard to understand that the accident is traumatic and it’s acceptable to feel vulnerable, weak and be in a bad place.

“It’s not wallowing, but it’s being okay with it being a bit rubbish. And as I’ve slowly transitioned back to the routine of training and doing my job it has freed my mind.

“I’m really keen to commit to the PTO series and I need to focus on my preparation for Kona, but I’m very aware I don’t want to rush my physical recovery even if I feel mentally ready. It would be irresponsible.”

A year to make it work

Despite being four months younger than Matthews, Bishop is vastly more experienced in the sport, with his World Triathlon results stretching back to a youth relay in 2007. Yet, just like Matthews there are unknowns as he eyes his first serious year of non-drafting racing – one that could also be his last.

“I’ve given myself a year to make it work financially,” Bishop says. “I’m looking at 70.3s and the [PTO] 100km distance. If the career is progressing then maybe a full Ironman next year.”

Having been handed a wildcard for the PTO US Open last summer, he already has an idea of the standard he must reach.

“Dallas blew me away a bit in terms of how fast everyone was,” he adds, having finished 30th in the $1million race. “The talent pool is insane, but I’ve still not raced how I want to.

“This winter, I’ve been doing a lot of what I know works in terms of getting strong,” he adds. “I’m more of a diesel guy, but my concern is muscular endurance so I’ve been doing loads of long runs just trying to get the legs used to that distance off the bike.

“You can cook yourself if you have to go up to your limit in one of the three disciplines, but although I don’t think I have a super strength in anything, I’m solid at all three. I hope it’s enough to get the results.”

The lowest CdA in tri

One area that should help Bishop is his bike position. Rumoured 
to have one of the lowest CdAs (or drag coefficients) in triathlon, watching his low profile 
slip over the boards in Derby, 
it doesn’t take a trained eye 
to see why.

“I don’t actually know what it is yet but it’s a pretty cool thing to flex,” he says. “I did some testing last year to dial in my position and went pretty well in Daytona off the back of that [Bishop finished fourth with the second-fastest bike split].

“I’m trying to find a few more gains with the bike position. Currently it’s similar to what I was set up on last summer, but if anything it’s more comfortable as it’s opened up my shoulders.

“I’m a bit of a maverick to try and go as fast as I can and we’ve a couple of early-season races to test it. If it doesn’t work we just go a bit more relaxed.”

Bishop started his season at Clash Miami on 10 March, where he finished second, before he took a step up at Challenge Puerto Varas to take the win just one week later. While he’d love to get more starts at the PTO events, his sights for now are set on the Challenge Championship in Slovakia in May.

A consistent sub-32min runner off the bike at short course, his running will need to be up to scratch over the longer distances.

And if it is he might have to throw some of the credit the way of his twin brother, David, who works at Huub, who won last year’s Chester Marathon in 2:20:22, and is targeting an even quicker time in April’s TCS London Marathon.

“Our running has been similar historically, but David would put me away at the moment,” Bishop adds. “Depending on how I feel after this, we’ll see 
if we can get out on the 
track tonight.”

Top image credit: Mark Averill