It's 10.58am on 21 June and 220 is expecting a very special visitor. Just two weeks on from a remarkable-performance at the Sub8 in Germany, British pro Kat Matthews is visiting us in Bristol for a chat and photoshoot.
Forgive the pun, but the cat is now well and truly out of the bag. Any reservations about Kat's ability to cor at the very pinnacle of long-distance racing have long been erased thanks to her performances at both the Ironman Worlds in May and the Sub8 in June. In her first full-distance worlds, Matthews placed runner-up to five-time champion Daniela Ryf. Four weeks later she smashed the elusive 8hr women's long-distance barrier in a time of 7:31:54 at the invite-only Sub8 project, having taken the place of an injured Lucy Charles-Barclay.
The phone rings. It's Kat, letting us know she's arrived. She's right on time, but that's not surprising given her background as a physiotherapist officer in the Army. We help bring in her kit, including a weighty Sub8 trophy. Though by her own admission a photoshoot is far from her comfort zone, she seems relaxed, unassuming and open to the many ideas we have for the forthcoming shoot - after a chat about coffee, of course.
Having only taken up tri in 2015 before turning pro in 2019, Matthews hasn't been in the sport long. And it's even less time when you consider the two pandemic-interrupting seasons since her step up. Not that this hampered her results, the 31-year-old starting 2022 with two full and three halfIronman wins to her name.
By the time the Sub8 project rolled around, Matthews had joined the growing number of voices tipping her for success: "I know I can go sub-eight," she told us in April. She wasn't wrong, smashing it by almost half an hour.
Of course it's not all been as easy as it sounds, and over a very pleasant few hours Matthews opened up on the battles she faced in both of those huge events, the importance of balance and what comes next...
Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
