Kiko Matthews Author

Seven years before Kiko Matthews broke the world record for the fastest woman to row across the Atlantic in March 2018, she had a tumour removed from her brain at King's College Hospital in London after being diagnosed with Cushing's Disease. When the tumour returned in 2017, a second operation followed, and Kiko set herself the challenge of raising GBP100,000 for King's College Hospital by rowing the Atlantic solo. Born into an unconventional Herefordshire family, she graduated with a degree in molecular biology before embarking on a career teaching science in London. Later, she began teaching stand-up paddle boarding on the Thames until, that is, she set out alone to row across the Atlantic at the age of 36.