The pro triathlon season burst into life as Britain’s Kat Matthews made a statement start with an emphatic victory at IRONMAN New Zealand in Taupō.
In what was the opening race in the IRONMAN Pro Series, Matthews showed why she is clear favourite for a third successive title as she powered away from her rivals on the run to win by a distance.
She crossed the line in 8:28:55, more than 10 minutes quicker than the previous course record, with 2021 winner Hannah Berry (NZL) in second and Lotte Wilms (NED) rounding out the podium in third.
There were four Kona slots available and they rolled down to sixth as Wilms and Danielle Lewis (USA) in fifth already had one courtesy of IRONMANs Western Australia and Cozumel late last year.
Swim – Langridge leads the way
Fenella Langridge (GBR) was first out of the water 50:51 but Wilms, Rebecca Clarke (NZL) and Berry were all within five seconds.
Hannah Knighton (NZL) was only a handful of seconds further back in fifth and at this point it was 2:39 back to Matthews in sixth in company with defending champ Regan Hollioake (AUS).
Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) was eighth, Tamara Jewett (CAN) ninth and two-time winner Jocelyn McCauley (USA) tenth.
Bike – Three-way battle
This was the first IRONMAN race with a 20-metre draft zone on the bike and it didn’t take long for Matthews to take the lead on the grippy, rolling roads around Taupō.
But she was soon joined by both Berry and Wilms and that trio would stay together – and work well together – for the rest of the 180km.
At 90km they had more than three minutes in hand of Hollioake and the rest and that gap would continue to go out.
Berry – who battled back well from a mechanical – was fractionally first into T2, Matthews was six seconds back and Berry at +13, with Hollioake +5:19 and Lewis fifth at +12:55.
Run – Kat out on her own
Matthews was out of T2 first and that set the tone on the run as it soon became one-way traffic.
The Brit put half a minute into Berry in the first 2km, with Wilms over a minute back and the momentum continued – at 8km in the gaps were two minutes and +3:26 respectively.
At halfway Matthews had extended it to over four minutes on Berry and ran with men’s leader – and eventual winner – Trevor Foley for a kilometre to keep things progressing nicely.
The last loop was a victory lap as Matthews smiled her way round to celebrate a perfect start to her 2026 season, winning by just under seven minutes from Berry.
Wilms was third and Jewett shattered the run course record with a 2:42:40 marathon which took her up to fourth. That was nearly eight minutes better than the previous best – and faster than all the pro men bar the first four.
IRONMAN New Zealand women’s results
Saturday March 7, 2026 – Taupō
| Position | Athlete | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kat Matthews (GBR) | 00:53:29 | 04:38:01 | 02:51:48 | 08:28:53 |
| 2 | Hannah Berry (NZL) | 00:50:54 | 04:40:38 | 02:58:12 | 08:35:41 |
| 3 | Lotte Wilms (NED) | 00:50:52 | 04:40:42 | 03:02:19 | 08:39:56 |
| 4 | Tamara Jewett (CAN) | 00:54:13 | 04:57:47 | 02:42:40 | 08:41:18 |
| 5 | Danielle Lewis (USA) | 01:02:03 | 04:42:11 | 02:59:19 | 08:49:33 |
| 6 | Regan Hollioake (AUS) | 00:53:31 | 04:42:50 | 03:12:12 | 08:54:43 |
| 7 | Gabrielle Lumkes (USA) | 00:55:32 | 04:53:16 | 03:11:13 | 09:05:37 |
| 8 | Fenella Langridge (GBR) | 00:50:49 | 05:03:14 | 03:09:42 | 09:09:08 |
| 9 | Rhianne Hughes (GBR) | 01:04:28 | 04:58:10 | 03:08:25 | 09:16:37 |
| 10 | Rebecca Clarke (NZL) | 00:50:53 | 04:57:59 | 03:25:03 | 09:19:45 |
