Triathlon star Captain Kat Matthews reacts to 'big win' in Ironman Texas months after horrific accident

British Army Captain Kat Matthews is back to winning ways after taking victory at the Memorial Herman Ironman Triathlon in Texas six months after a training accident which almost cost her her life. 

Cpt Matthews won the event in a time of eight hours, thirty-two minutes, and fifty-two seconds, which took place in the very place she had her accident last year.

Speaking exclusively to BFBS, Cpt Matthews said there was "no risk" to her going back to where the accident happened. 

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She said: "I did have a slight wobble when I arrived, but it was maybe 10 minutes or so and then everything else was okay. 

"I haven't really done the roads out here and I don't ever plan to again outside of a race environment which is closed roads.

"I think there was no risk so it was a comfortable place to come and we are really integrated within the community here so we stay with families who are really into the sport, so that's part of this triathlon community that we don't always have in every city around the world, so that's pretty special here." 

#PhysioAthlete ?
Proud

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? @TalbotCoxpic.twitter.com/73wqRrEbUW

— Katrina Matthews (née Rye) (@Katr_Matthews) April 23, 2023

Having only had a few months to recover from her injuries, which included a fractured skull, Cpt Matthews said that her victory in Texas was "a really big win". 

She said: "I have got about four months of training behind me and I felt woefully unprepared for it, but that's the way sport works. 

"I needed to qualify again for the race that I missed, the Ironman World Championships, so not only was it a big championship race to really get a proper idea of my performance level, it was also a big one to try and get my qualification as well, so it was a really big win." 

Cpt Matthews plans to return to Europe for her preparations for the 2023 World Ironman Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October. 

Depending on her recovery, she hopes to compete at the World Long Course Triathlon Championships in Spain in over a week's time.