British Katrina Matthews became the first woman to put the entire Ironman triathlon under eight o’clock. She succeeded at the Sub8 plant in Cottbus, Germany.
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To understand the incredible dimension of that performance, another British Chrissie Wellington held the record (and still holds it) with a time of 8 hours and 18 minutes 13 seconds. That difference makes a dizzying 47 minutes.
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Yes, there is a small catch. The recorded times will not be considered official world records, as the event was specially designed to exceed the seven-hour limit in men and the eight-hour limit in women. Which is absolutely successful. In the men’s Sub7, the winner Nor Kristian Blummenfelt finished in 6 hours 44 minutes and 25 seconds. He thus broke his current valid world record of 7 hours 21 minutes and 12 seconds by a huge difference.
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I see my sporting endeavors as a study for continuous learning and improvement. And this development keeps me right on the edge of passion and motivation to achieve perfection.
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“I feel a lot of emotions, but the main thing is gratitude to the whole team around me. Honestly, of all the triathlons in the world, this is the most about the cooperation of the whole team, “Matthews told the BBC. “I felt disappointed all day. I hit the limit and thought I would lose, but the support gave me motivation. ”She finally beat her rival, Nicola Spiriga, by more than two minutes.
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Tailor-made track
The German race was designed to be similar in style to Eliud Kipchoge’s successful attempt to run a two-hour marathon in 2019. The organizers have adjusted the details in the triathlon track to facilitate fast times.
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It started by swimming from point A to point B on an artificial lake, without the competitors having to waste time circling the buoys. The cycling stage took place on a high-speed oval race track for cars and motorcycles with Lausitzring bends, so there were no hills waiting for the racers. Finally, the final discipline followed, a marathon accompanied by a team of “hares” who helped the racers keep pace. Similar to Kenyan Kipchoge’s record marathon attempt.
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Katrina “Kat” Matthews has tremendous strength in long distance racing and is one of the best in her sport. He has been racing in triathlons for seven years. This year she started by winning the half Ironman 70.3 on Lanzarote.
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She is a former ETU European Mid-Triathlon Champion and now has two Ironman victories and two half-race titles – Ironman 70.3.
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The 31-year-old Englishwoman was born in Exmouth and is a physiotherapy officer at the Royal Army Medical Corps. Thanks to the support of the British army, he can practice triathlon professionally.
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Immediately upon her debut, she won the title at the half-Ironman 70.3 in Calgary. Its great advantage is its strength in disciplines on land. Now she wants to focus on further improving her swimming times so that she can fight for the title of world champion. That is her biggest goal today.
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She made her classic Ironman debut in Western Australia in 2019, where she finished fourth and immediately beat the nine-hour mark. In 2020, Kat was one of the few athletes who did well during the global covid-19 pandemic. She won her first victory on the middle track 70.3 in Tallinn, beating the rest of the field by more than five minutes. In just three weeks, she won the title in the famous Outlaw Half race.
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Matthews finished the three triumphs with her first title at the long Ironman in Florida. She led the world-class field when she ran out of the water, keeping her bike at the forefront before overcoming the marathon in under three hours and winning in a record time of 8:40:50.
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“I see my sporting endeavors as a study for continuous learning and improvement. And this development keeps me right on the edge of passion and motivation to achieve perfection, “she said in an earlier interview.
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