Kat Matthews smashed the Ironman New Zealand record but her best form is yet to come

Kat Matthews made an early start to her season by winning Ironman New Zealand with a course record despite not having finished pre-season training.

Her finishing time in Taupo of 8:28:55 beat the previous fastest time by 12 minutes, and breaks down into astonishingly quick splits for an early season race: swim – 53:30 (1:25min/km); bike – 4:38:01 (24mph/38.62kmh); run – 2:51:48 (6:36min/mi / 4:06min/km). 

In the first race of the Ironman Pro Series 2026, Matthews earned 5,000 points in an ideal start to her title defence. Seven minutes later came Hannah Berry with Lotte Wilms four minutes behind her to complete the women’s podium. 

As interesting as this performance were comments Matthews made before and after her victory, shedding light into her pre-season training plan and new coaching partnership. 

Still building

After injuring her calf in Marbella at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, Matthews revealed in an Instagram post she has clocked 500km in three months in her new ON running shoes (the Swiss brand signed her up last year). 

Equating to about 42km per week, that doesn’t sound a lot for a world-class triathlete, but Matthews isn’t alone in minimising running volume to lower injury risk. 

After joking than the marathon she completed in the Ironman counted as a ‘long run’, she suggested she has also focused on weight training.

She posted that she had “paired [the running] with some single leg capacity focus, starting at the feet but through to the hips” while prioritising recovery and fuelling. The dose of intensity has been small, according to Matthews.

In a social media video recorded with her clothing sponsor Wyn Republic, she said: “I think getting the training balance is really hard.

“No one knows when to lean in and when to back off, but I think you just have to trust how you’re feeling. And sometimes you get it wrong.

“You can lean in a bit further away from races and then build that momentum. 

“So, I think backing off, as always, nearly always is the right thing to do before a race very early in the year.”

Location decision

Explaining her decision to head Down Under, she said: “I’m drawn to race so early and in such a cool place, mainly because I really wanted to come back to Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s great to tick off a Pro Series race, but it was really because I really wanted to come.”

She also told Ironman that she wanted to win 5,000 Pro Series points for a win, escape UK weather and spread racing over the season.

For at least three weeks before Taupo, she trained in Australia to acclimatise to the southern hemisphere’s summer heat. 

The bigger picture

Matthews said the New Zealand phase formed part of a “pre-season build for the whole year”. 

She added: “I’m sitting back, and I’m really focusing and paying close attention to little things, not scrutiny on the detail, just eating when I feel like I’m hungry, sleeping as much as I possibly can. And enjoying the sessions. 

“Rather than focusing on the nitty-gritty, the power, the heart rate, I’m thinking about little things, and the bigger picture.”

Wife-husband team

Matthews is now coached by her husband, Mark, having previously used ‘external’ coaches like former cycling pro Alex Dowsett. 

Writing on Instagram before the New Zealand race, Mark said he never expected to coach his wife. “I found it hard to see how you could balance coaching and caring for someone the way you should as a husband,” he said. 

“It wasn’t a deliberate thing, Kat just chose to take a break from external coaching to have a bit of reset and space.

“That said it’s been super fun. In part because you don’t want to be too perfect or fit right now, with the big goals in July and October.”

In acknowledgment that he is not an expert in all areas, Mark said he’s been consulting Matthew Bottrill, Sam Proctor and Björn Geesmann. 

Speaking to Pro Tri News after the race, Matthews said she hadn’t made “any big changes” during the off-season despite the coach swap. 

What’s next?

Other than saying she was flying to Geelong, presumably for the next Pro Series race, Matthews didn’t disclose her 2026 season plans.

However, in Mark’s post, he said that her key goals are in July and October. We imagine the first of these is the London T100 and the second is the Ironman World Championships on 10 October. 

While Ironman New Zealand was just one race, it suggests her preparation is right on track for these tougher tests.