IRONMAN Texas start list: Taylor Knibb to face Kat Matthews and Chelsea Sodaro in a Pro Series blockbuster

IRONMAN Texas, which doubles as the North American Championship, will be an absolute blockbuster later this month with a stellar start list announced for the women’s pro field.

The full-distance feature at The Woodlands in Houston is the fourth event on the $1.7million 2025 Pro Series schedule, and the second 140.6-mile jaunt following IRONMAN South Africa.

Saturday April 26 is the date for your calendars for what should be a spectacular showdown, with 2022 IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro, two-time defending Texas champion Kat Matthews and middle-distance phenom Taylor Knibb all scheduled to be on the start line.

IRONMAN has released both the men’s and women’s start lists for the event, although as always, they are subject to change.

Here are the details of what should be an epic race.

Big guns line up for IRONMAN Texas

British star Matthews is set to defend her crown one year on from a strong all-round performance. The 34-year-old ran a 3:00:15 marathon to claim victory by 2:14 from Australia’s Penny Slater in a time of 8:42:22. She also topped the podium in 2023 in a time of 8:32:51, again producing the fastest run split.

Kat went on to further glory in 2024 by winning at IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz – her fifth full-distance triumph – before finishing second to Laura Philipp at IRONMAN World Championships in Nice and second to Knibb at IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds in Taupo in December. She also claimed a $200k bonus for topping the inaugural Pro Series standings.

Knibb will be taking on just her second Ironman distance event after finishing fourth at the 2023 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. The 27-year-old has been unbeatable over the middle-distance – winning 10 consecutive 70.3 and T100 outings – and she’ll be keen to take that winning aura into the 140.6-mile format as she bids to qualify for Kona in October.

Since winning the pinnacle of IRONMAN racing in 2022, American Sodaro has raced just four times over the full distance – two of those coming at IRONMAN Worlds in 2023 and 2024. She boasts a victory at IRONMAN New Zealand in 2024 and a bronze medal at the 2024 World Championship in Nice – the 35-year-old tends to deliver when on the start line.

2024 IRONMAN Texas runner-up Slater of Australia returns for another bid at glory. The 29-year-old still seeks her first race victory as a professional on the IRONMAN circuit, with her second-place performance last year her best outing. The Aussie finished seventh in Nice last September, but started the 2025 campaign off with a disappointing DNF at 70.3 Geelong.

There is, of course, a plethora of US talent on show outside of Sodaro and Knibb. Danielle Lewis, who finished sixth in the IRONMAN Pro Series last term will be keen to build on a terrific third-place performance at 70.3 Oceanside last weekend. The 2024 IRONMAN Lake Placid victor has a trio of top-10 finishes at the Texas race over the past three years.

Fellow American Alice Alberts has a pair of IRONMAN victories on US soil – both coming in 2023 in Maryland and Lake Placid – and she finished fifth at last year’s Texas event. Canadian Tamara Jewett – who exercised the ghosts of her 2024 season at Oceanside last weekend – will be eager to improve on her fourth place in California. She’ll be stepping up to the full distance for the first time.

Other notable contenders include Regan Hollioake (AUS), Haley Chura (USA), Steph Clutterbuck (GBR) and Chloe Lane (AUS), while Svenja Thoes (GER) – a four-time IRONMAN race winner and Sara Svensk (SWE) – twice a winner over the full-distance – are also on the start list.

IRONMAN Texas Start List – Pro Women