Kat Matthews has announced where she'll be making her return to racing following a spell on the sidelines after being hit by a car in September in Texas – and you'll never guess where it is...
The British pro had a fantastic start to 2022, taking a convincing win at Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, coming second in the rearranged 2021 Ironman Word Championships in St George and then smashing the Sub7 challenge in June.
However, her plans for the latter stages of the season – namely competing for honours at the 2022 Ironman World Championship in Kona – were derailed in September when she was hit by a car while training in Texas.
Among the resulting list of injuries, Matthews suffered from small fractures in the skull, two vertebrae and sternum.
However, after a winter of rehabilitation and recovery, it seems she's ready to get back to racing and, remarkably, she's going back to the area where that shocking accident took place.
That's because she's decided to make her return at Ironman Texas on 22 April, with the course unfolding just a mile down the road from where she was knocked off her bike.
A return to racing
In an Instagram post uploaded on Sunday 5 March, Matthews said: "On Monday I sneezed without pain, I went on to complete a 2nd training camp (a goal set on "week 8" (post accident), I ran 100km in Feb and started March even better AND I've entered an Ironman.
"My season will be different for many reasons. I want to start without the stress of previous performance from myself or the expectations of others. These are in my control. My perception.
"Right now, I'm getting really excited to race long. It's been a year (ish)! I'm sure this feeling will fluctuate for the next few weeks, but I'm ready to ride the wave again!
"IM Texas 22 Apr. Who knows how it will go, but I'm excited to try and to find out! I'll be at my best possible, seven months after every cyclist's worst nightmare... [accident was] just a mile down the road from the race."
The good news (as well as Matthews' return itself) is that you can watch the racing unfold, with the event set to be streamed on Ironman Live.
Top image credit: Huw Fairclough/Getty Images
