Britain’s Kat Matthews became the first woman ever to complete the Ironman distance in triathlon in under eight hours as the 31-year-old demolished the target time to win the novel Pho3nix Foundation’s Sub8 event in Germany.
The Ironman World Championship runner-up from St George fought back to overtake London 2012 winner Nicola Spirig in the closing third of an epic marathon and take the tape with almost half-an-hour to spare.
Spirig, a five-time Olympian, strove on bravely to finish just a couple of minutes behind in what could represent an impressive final chapter in a golden career.
The mum-of-three has announced that 2022 will be her final year in competitive triathlon, and with no big events announced as yet it could be a fitting way to bow out.
Matthews, though, had a day to remember, from exiting the water ahead of the Swiss, to producing a 3:50:06 bike split with her support team of pacers.
It gave her a 3 1/2min lead on to the run, which was whittled away by Spirig who made the pass with around 10 miles to go and looked set for victory. But Matthews was not to be denied, fighting back for a historic victory in a historic time.
More to follow…