MULTISPORT
Matt finishes at Ironman World Champs 2019 in Kona , Hawaii
I could only bike and run . That said , I didn ’ t have to change my usual schedule too much , thanks to the set-up at home , so I was not as badly affected as some other athletes .”
Miraculous Recovery
Of course , the fact that Matt is able to compete at all is still a huge relief to him . In February 2017 , the doctors were telling him they didn ’ t think he would be able to race competitively again , after he was hit by a car during a long training ride near Stellenbosch on the 31st of December . He suffered a compression fracture of his lumbar vertebra and had to have a multiple level spinal fusion , but by October 2017 he was not just back in action , he was back to winning races !
“ It was a tough 10-month journey from the ambulance to that first finish line , but securing those first few wins gave me hope that being a professional triathlete might still be a viable career path for me ,” says Matt . “ I was still feeling the effects of the injury up till July last year , especially when running , so I took some time off running and focused on the bike and swim , to rest my back . That really helped , and I won the European Long Course Champs in September , in a new course record . Since then I ’ ve learnt to manage my back , and I think my body just needed time to adapt .”
“ It hasn ’ t affected my training this past year , compared to the previous two years , but I still built my training schedule around it , so that I can manage it . And when I look back now , the accident has just made me appreciate the physical freedom that I have now , and has helped put other smaller setbacks into perspective . I ’ m 35 and think I am now in my prime for long course racing , so I want to take advantage of that . Also , I got into this sport quite late , so I actually have less wear and tear than other triathletes , who started earlier – both mentally and physically .”
Multitalented Multisporter
Matt actually began his competitive sporting career as a canoe racer and white water kayaker , representing South Africa at the World Wild Water Kayak Champs in his Matric year . After school he took up racing sailing yachts for a living , and
worked his way up to skippering one of the most successful IRC racing yacht crews in the world . He then embarked on a two-year campaign to become the first South African to complete the Mini Transat , a gruelling singlehanded Trans-Atlantic yacht race on 6,5m ( 21 foot ) boats . He finished ninth out of 85 starters .
In 2012 he teamed up with his brother , adventure photographer Kelvin Trautman , to finish third in the Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon , and later that year finished second in a triathlon in the UK . That inspired him to return to SA and train for the 2013 Ironman South Africa , where he won his age group and finished 20th overall , and also qualified for his first Ironman World Champs in Kona , Hawaii . There , he finished second in the 25-29 non-pro age group , and 30th overall , which spurred him on to turn pro , and a year later , he got his first big win at Ironman Wales . “ That was confirmation that I could do this as a career . It answered the question : Do you really want to get a desk job , or can you dig a little harder ?” says Matt .
In 2015 he won Ironman 70.3 South Africa in East London and 70.3 Incheon in South Korea , and in 2016 retained his East London title while adding the Stafford 70.3 ( UK ) and Durban 70.3 titles . Then came the accident at the end of that year , but Matt rounded off his road to recovery by once again winning the 70.3 East London title early in 2018 , followed by another win at Ironman Wales that same year . After overcoming his injury problems in 2019 , he was once again in fine form at the beginning of this year , winning in East London for an unprecedented fourth time .
While his focus is very much still on his competitive career , Matt has already begun looking ahead to when his competitive career begins to slow down , by getting into coaching the sport . Therefore , while unable to compete during lockdown , he tried to keep busy as much as possible , including compiling an online master class in triathlon , from beginner to advanced level , looking at technique , equipment , preparation , tapering and more , which should be ready by December . “ I wanted to add to my own knowledge as a pro , and as an add-on to my coaching work . There is a gap in the market for a complete package offering in the sport , like the cooking master class packages you get online , versus sifting through YouTube for many different sources , so that gives me something else to work towards .”
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