Seriously injured – Hawaii favorite hit by car
Katrina Matthews, who finished second at the World Championships in Utah, is in the hospital following an accident
Quelle: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Top triathlete Kat Matthews, one of the favorites to win the Hawaii win, collides with a car while riding her bike at high speed. The German Patrick Lange was an eyewitness: “She had no chance.” Matthews suffers several fractures.
LTraining between the lava fields, swimming in the Pacific, parked the bike under a palm tree – some of the world’s best triathletes are posting their impressions of the first training sessions in Hawaii. A good week until the Ironman. Kat Matthews wanted to be on the podium there on October 6 and was one of the contenders. Her latest Instagram photo shows her injured in the hospital.
The 31-year-old Brit had a serious accident while training shortly before leaving for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. Matthews was hit by a car during a cycling session at training camp in Texas. On Instagram she posted a photo from a hospital with extensive skin abrasions on her face and a neck brace.
According to her husband Mark Matthews The second of the 2021 Ironman World Championships, which was held in Utah in May, suffered minor fractures in the skull. Matthews also fractured two vertebrae and his sternum in the accident. Further investigations are pending. So the injuries are serious, but Mark Matthews also gives the all-clear: “Kat is okay and in good hands, hopefully without long-term injuries.”
In the accident: the two-time Hawaii champion Patrick Lange. Matthews and he are coached by German Björn Geesmann. Both prepared in Texas for the showdown in Hawaii.
Matthews was initially unconscious
“We rode on a quiet road like we had a dozen times before,” Lange reported to triathlete.com. A car from the opposite direction then suddenly crossed the street and hit Matthews. You had no chance to avoid the accident at high speed on the flat road.
According to Lange, Matthews was initially unconscious. Luckily, the ambulance got there quickly. The accident happened on Sunday (local time).
Kat Matthews celebrated her victory at Ironman 70.3 Swansea in August
Quelle: Getty Images for IRONMAN/Nigel Roddis
Matthews was considered one of the contenders for the podium in the October 6 women’s race. The 31-year-old was only beaten by Swiss Daniela Ryf in Utah and finished ahead of 2019 world champion Anne Haug.
