Amid the extraordinary drama of the women’s IRONMAN World Championship, a moment between Kat Matthews and Paula Findlay captured another side of Kona.
Matthews, fighting her own battle on the marathon, offered encouragement to Findlay as the Canadian struggled on her debut on the island and had come to a standstill.
Findlay would get going again and finish in 18th, while Matthews worked her way up to fourth with the second-fastest women’s marathon.
Asked about that moment at the post-race press conference, the Briton explained why supporting a rival felt natural in such demanding circumstances.
‘That shared respect’
“I think anyone who starts this race is crazy and brave,” Matthews said.
“And so I think there is just that shared respect. To see people suffering like that is brutal. It hurts my heart a little bit.
“So I want to give as much of my energy to them as I can in the moment that’s appropriate, obviously.”
It was a small gesture during a long and difficult day, but one which illustrated the understanding between athletes experiencing the same conditions on what was another ultra-challenging day on the Big Island.
Findlay had reached T2 in seventh, just 5:24 behind leader Taylor Knibb, after a strong bike leg. Her marathon proved much tougher, but she persevered to complete her first Kona in 9:20:00.
One foot in front of the other
Matthews’ own race required considerable resolve.
Having started the marathon ninth after losing ground on the bike, she ran 2:52:49 to finish fourth in 8:49:37. Only runner-up Laura Philipp recorded a faster women’s run.
For Matthews, continuing was about concentrating on the task immediately ahead.
“It was just totally get myself to the finish line as best I could,” she explained.
“I do like running, so it’s kind of fun just to run.
“But I guess there was no other choice. It wasn’t really a decision or a mindset. It’s just one foot in front of the other and look forward to the next aid station.”
Asked whether she had literally broken the marathon into stretches between aid stations, Matthews described the importance of those opportunities to cool down and take on fluids.
“I think, isn’t that what everyone’s doing? It’s like a desperation of, ‘When can I get more ice and more water?’”
Encouragement goes both ways
With the professional men and women racing on the same day, Matthews also appreciated the support from other athletes out on the course.
“Having lots of men on the course meant that we had more bikers coming in while we were running,” she said.
“So we had a lot of people trying to cheer us on as we were running, which was really nice.”
Her fourth place also lifted the two-time IRONMAN Pro Series champion from eighth to third in the final standings, securing an $85,000 Series bonus.
But alongside that recovery, the footage of her encouraging Findlay offered a memorable glimpse of the camaraderie behind the competition – and the shared respect that comes from knowing just how hard reaching the Kona finish can be.
