GB's Kat Matthews sets a new record Ironman time in Texas

History was made when British su perstar Kat Matthews took the tape for the third consecutive year in Texas, this time completing the course in a staggering 8:10:34. In doing so, she set a new fastest time for a full-distance Ironman during a thrilling day of racing.

In the women’s field, it was three-time defending Ironman 70.3 World Champion Taylor Knibb, competing in only her second full-distance Ironman following her fourth place 2023 Ironman World Championship performance, who would make waves early coming second out of the water seconds behind Rachel Zilinskas (USA) and quickly asserting her dominance on the bike course.

Fierce competition

All eyes were on Knibb’s biggest competition, 2024 Ironman Pro Series champion and two-time defending Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas champion, Kat Matthews. Matthews would exit the water five minutes behind Knibb, but was unable to chase down a relentless Knibb who had taken a pulsating lead over the field eventually completing the Zoot Bike Course in a new fastest time of 4:19:46.

While Knibb’s lead was healthy heading out of T2, the chase was on, and the two-time defending Champion Matthews was up to the task.

Matthews takes the lead

Kat Matthews caught Knibb as they neared the ninth mile of the marathon and soared to the finish. Matthews would break the tape in The Woodlands for the third straight year and set a new fastest time for a full-distance Ironman of 8:10:34, beating Laura Philipp’s time of 8:18:20 set at the 2022 IRONMAN Hamburg European Championship.

Knibb would follow Matthews just under 10 minutes behind in a time of 8:20:15 to grab her first Ironman podium finish, while Austria’s Lisa Perterer would round out the podium in third finishing with an impressive 8:28:17.

“I’m really proud to pull together that (performance) against this field. Seriously, I’m really happy,” said Matthews on the finish line. “I wasn’t feeling great to be honest. I thought, just ease into it, but the speed came quite easily, and the time just heamorrhaged.”

“I feel lucky to sort of claw back time really quickly and stay positive for most of it. I really feel like the depth of the women’s field is growing and grown and the competition level of the these Pro Series races really brings everyone together.”

Blummenfelt powers to men’s victory

In the men’s race, Norwegian powerhouse Kristian Blummenfelt stormed to victory in his debut appearance in The Woodlands in a time of 7:24:20.

The men’s race kicked off with a furious swim, with 25 men all exiting the water within a minute of each other, USA’s Ben Kanute sharing time at the front with Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), Thomas Gordon (USA) and others. Onto the bike, Australian Nick Thompson, Sweden’s Robert Kallin, and Denmark’s Kristian Høgenhaug all took their turn at the front of the all-out bike pursuit.

Speed on the bike

However, it would be Australian cycling juggernaut Cameron Wurf who would work his way to the front and enter T2 first with the fastest Ironman bike split in history, setting a new course best bike time of 3:53:32. The eventual men’s podium stayed in touch throughout the bike, in a strong second chase group behind Wurf.

The battle for the podium spots quickly simmered down to Benito López and the chasing Rudy Von Berg, each taking second and third respectively, while Blummenfelt would cruise to victory and set a new course best time of 7:24:20.

“It felt super good, especially the first 25K, the last 7-8K it started getting really tough. I was feeling stable even with the heat. I was pleased with I was able to get through how I felt at the end of the bike, because I started cramping in the quads,” said Blummenfelt following his victory on Waterway Ave.

“If you look away from the puncture in Oceanside, I felt my shape was ok, but just a bummer to not take away the points. To be able to take 5,000 points today, I think that is more crucial because you can always do another 70.3, but to back it up with another Ironman is more challenging. I’m super happy with today’s win.”

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Images: Jamie Squire/Getty Images for IRONMAN

About

Helen has been 220's Editor since July 2013, when she made the switch from marathons to multisport. She's usually found open-water swimming and has competed in several swimruns as well as the ÖtillÖ World Series. Helen is a qualified Level 2 Open-Water Swim Coach focusing on open-water confidence and runs regular workshops at the South West Maritime Academy near Bristol. She is also an RLSS UK Open Water Lifeguard trainer/assessor.