TASS triathlete Katrina Matthews continues outstanding start to professional career by winning Ironman Florida in record time
Triathlete Katrina Matthews, one of the British Army sportspeople who receives TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) support at Team Bath, has added to her growing list of titles by winning the Ironman Florida competition.
Matthews, a Physiotherapist Officer with the Army, led after the 2.4-mile swim and maintained that advantage by producing the third-fastest split time during the 112-mile bike ride.
She capped a dominant performance in only her second full Ironman by running 2:58:29 in the final discipline, a full 26.2-mile marathon, to take first place in a course-record time of 8:40:50.
It was the latest eye-catching result for Matthews, who first took up triathlon in 2015 and made a successful step up to middle-distance competition three years later when she won an Ironman 70.3 competition in Calgary before claiming the national title.
After finishing 15 minutes clear of the field in the age-group race at last year’s Challenge Gran Canaria event, Matthews joined the professional ranks and began full-time training.
Part of that is at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, which is a TASS Delivery Site and where Matthews has been supported for the past two years by accessing strength and conditioning coaching, physio, sport psychology, lifestyle and nutrition support from practitioners at the University.
Despite the limited amount of competitions this year, Matthews has been able to record victories at the National 100-Mile Time Trial Championships, Ironman 70.3 Tallin in Estonia and the Outlaw X event in Nottingham before her latest success in Florida.
