Kat Matthews underlined her status as one of the top contenders for the upcoming Ironman World Championship with a commanding victory at Ironman 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun. The Brit continued her remarkable 2025 season, securing her third win and reclaiming the lead in the IM Pro Series standings.
Matthews stormed to victory by almost four minutes over Austrian favorite Lisa Perterer, while Norway’s Solveig Løvseth completed the podium.
On the men’s side, Germany’s Fabian Kraft continued his rapid rise in Middle Distance racing, following up his win at 70.3 Sweden with another impressive performance. Kraft controlled the decisive moments of the run and cruised to victory, ahead of France’s Gregor Payet and Australia’s Nick Thompson.
Kat Matthews in a league of her own
While pre-race expectations pointed to a battle with Germany’s Anne Reischmann, illness kept Reischmann from starting. That left Matthews to seize control on the challenging Austrian course.
After a tightly-packed swim in the pristine waters of Lake Zell, Matthews exited in a group of 10 that also included Løvseth. Once on the demanding bike course, Matthews quickly surged to the front, though Perterer impressively bridged across around the halfway point to keep the pressure on.
Heading onto the run, Matthews wasted no time in asserting her dominance. Within the opening kilometers she had broken free, opening a gap that only grew as the half marathon unfolded. By the finish, she crossed the line in 4:08:50, well clear of Perterer, with Løvseth hanging on for third.
Fabian Kraft confirms his breakthrough
Kraft has emerged as one of the revelations of 2025, and Zell am See-Kaprun further proved his ability to handle stacked fields and tough courses. After a large front pack stayed together through both swim and bike, it all came down to the run.
Kraft wasted little time in applying pressure, gradually pulling clear of Payet and McDowell. By the midway point of the run, he was firmly in control, eventually breaking the tape in 3:44:31. Payet secured second nearly three minutes back, while Thompson surged late to snatch the final podium spot.