TRIATHLON – BAHRAIN Victorious 13 superstar Kat Matthews emerged victorious yesterday in the women’s race of the Ironman 70.3 Geelong triathlon in Australia, while teammate Jelle Geens climbed the podium as runner-up in the men’s event.
The supremely talented pair were amongst a high-quality field of elite triathletes from around the world who competed in the latest stop of the Ironman Pro Series 2026.
The race featured a course that started with a 1.9-kilometre swim, was followed by a 90km bike, and which concluded with a 21.1km run.
Matthews lived up to her tag as the reigning Ironman Pro Series women’s champion. The 35-year-old Briton continued her exceptional early-season form, claiming her second Ironman Pro Series victory in as many starts – after also securing a dominant victory in the Ironman New Zealand event in Taupo held earlier this month.
The win did not come easily, however, as she needed to overcome a late charge from rival Grace Thek from Australia.
“I just felt really good – had really good legs,” Matthews said after the race. “I got a bit tired, a bit lonely near the end and then on the run I really struggled.
“But then I was able to rally, so I sort of took that confidence in the last couple of kilometres and I was like, yeah, I can run, it’s fine.
“The fans were great – I just felt really happy down there, lots of people cheering. To be honest, it’s the competitors, I feel like everyone was my mate out there, cheering me on.”
Matthews took control of the race during the bike leg, and then she held a commanding advantage heading into the run. But there, she faced a furious challenge from Thek, who shrunk the gap to under two minutes and then to less than 90 seconds.
But Matthews showed her prowess and held on for the sensational victory by over a half-minute from Thek. The Bahrain Victorious ace won in a total race time of four hours six minutes and 14 seconds. She completed her swim leg in 24 minutes 43 seconds, the cycle in 2:14:09, and the run in 1:22:29.
Thek followed in 4:06:51. The leading pair were well in front of the rest of the field, with Tamara Jewett of Canada taking third in 4:15:27.
With her victory, Matthews earned 2,500 Ironman Pro Series points and $7,500 in prize money. She also has a comfortable early cushion atop the season standings.
On the distaff, Geens – the reigning back-to-back Ironman 70.3 world champion – also put in a strong fight en route to finishing second to Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt, who is a former Bahrain Victorious 13 triathlete.
Thirty-two-year-old Geens was in the lead in the opening kilometres of the run but was overtaken by Blummenfelt. The Belgian made a late surge to finish second in a time of 3:31:24 – with swim-bike-run splits of 22:13, 1:57:03, and 1:08:30.
He finished just under a minute behind Blummenfelt, who triumphed in 3:30:25, while Hayden Wilde, another ex-Bahrain Victorious 13 team member, came third in 3:31:52.
Geens came away with 2,441 points for his Ironman Pro Series ranking this season, where he climbed four places to 13th after one race so far on the 2026 calendar.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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