Kat Matthews missed the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii last year after a horrific bike crash in Texas in the lead-up to the event.

But having finished second to Taylor Knibb in the Ironman 70.3 worlds in Finland, her post-race thoughts turned immediately to a delayed Kona debut.

“It would be very disrespectful to say it [70.3 worlds] wasn’t a big goal and I had full focus on this race, but right now all I’m thinking about is Kona in seven weeks time,” Matthews says, having finished just over 4min behind the dominant Knibb in 3:57:05 in Lahti.

Matthews, 32, showed that she is timing her run to form perfectly for the Hawaii showdown, where she will line up as one of the favourites alongside six-time champion Daniela Ryf, 2019 winner Anne Haug, defending champion Chelsea Sodaro, and four-time Kona runner-up Lucy Charles-Barclay. 

After posting a 1:16:38 run split (only bettered by 11th place Canadian Tamara Jewett) to first hold off Emma Pallant-Browne and then hunt down Imogen Simmonds, Matthews was effusive about her performance in Finland.

“I had a really good day. They don’t always come and I had a really bad day a couple of weeks ago,” she said, referring to the PTO US Open in Milwaukee earlier this month when she finished seventh.

It has so far been a remarkable year for Matthews, who began 2023 unsure of her health and fitness after the crash in Woodlawns, where a car turned into her and left her with numerous injuries including a fractured skull, back and hip.

But after a third place opened her season in a packed field in Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in California in May, she faced down any demons by returning to Texas to win the third Ironman title of her career following a 2020 success in Florida and victory at Ironman UK in 2021.

While it will be Matthews’ debut in Hawaii on October 8, it won’t be her first appearance at the Ironman World Championship, having finished runner-up to Ryf in the delayed 2021 event in St George, Utah in May.