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How 37-year-old Laura Philipp learned to swim at 24 … and became the Ironman world champion

She didn't start the sport until she was 24. At 37 she became the second-oldest women's Ironman world champion.

Photo by: Kevin Mackinnon

Inspired to do a triathlon when a bunch of friends were training for a sprint, when 24-year-old Laura Philipp first got into a pool to try and swim, it took her a long time to just be able to swim 50 m of freestyle. It wasn’t like the German wasn’t fit – she used to commute 60 km every day on her bike to get to school, and she was also into rock climbing. Along the way in her triathlon journey she met the man who is now her husband and coach, Philipp Seipp. He told her she was doing all her training wrong, and set her on a new path in the sport.

Fast forward to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2017. I’d been told by a friend to track Philipp down and do a pre-race interview – she was going to do well. I did the interview, and came off looking prescient – Philipp would run her way to an impressive bronze medal that day.

Laura Philipp dominates Ironman World Championship in Nice

The following year Philipp would go on a tear, winning every race she entered, including her debut Ironman race in Barcelona. Since then, the only Ironman races she hasn’t won have been on the Big Island. She finished fourth in her Kona debut in 2019, and fourth again there in 2022. Last year she moved up a spot on the podium, taking third. Along the way she’s won Ironman races in Finland, Austria, Hamburg and South Africa. She also has won a number of 70.3 races and even holds the unofficial world best for the distance thanks to her 3:53:02 win in Dubai in 2022.

So how did someone who only started the sport in her 20s become a world champion? Here are six keys to her impressive rise to the top of the sport:

The Nice course

When Ironman announced that the world championship would be split between Kona and Nice, Philipp realized immediately that the course in Nice offered her best chance to take the world title.

“Since Nice got announced as the world championship, I was pretty sure that this is like my once in a lifetime chance to actually win a world championship title,” Philipp said after the race.

Dealing with the pressure

She was hardly the only person who saw things that way. Heading into the race, Philipp was at the top of a lot of people’s lists as the potential winner in Nice. 

“When people tell you ‘I know you’re going to win,’ there’s like a little thing inside of your stomach,” she said. “You hear this and you appreciate it so much that people actually have the belief in me that I can execute a race that would bring me the win. But yeah, of course, during my training I tried to visualize that I’m actually able to be in the front of such a big race. So, it was a big motivation to prepare for this race because I felt like this is such an honest course that the swim wouldn’t define the outcome. In Kona it’s much more like this – if you’re not in the front (out of the water) then you’re not in the group. Over here (in Nice), I knew I would have more time to actually put my stamp on the race. And this is just what I tried to do. And looking back now, it’s just amazing how it worked out. We had this pacing strategy for the bike and I did pretty much just that.”

Which was more impressive? Kat Matthews’ sub-8 or Laura Philipp’s 8:18?

A sense of “flow”

After the race Philipp said that she felt a “sort of flow, that feeling of being in the zone.” That was apparent even as she came out of the water – despite being over four minutes behind the leaders, Philipp looked serene, calm and focussed. That focus remained as she rode to the front of the race, then as she duelled with Kat Matthews through the early part of the run.

Philipp excelled on both the climbs and the downhills on the challenging Nice course, setting the day’s fastest bike split.

“It was just really cool to actually, like, plan something in advance and then execute it,” she said. “I didn’t know how my legs would feel after the bike. Coming in with Kat was exciting. I knew I had to deliver a fast time, and I just tried to hold on to a good pace as long as possible.”

Philipp more than held up that “good” pace – her 2:44 marathon split was by far the fastest of the day.

Love the process

Philipp is all-too-aware that hers is not the traditionally route to a world title, and hopes that others might hear her story and also be inspired.

“I’m hoping that it will inspire other people to take on something new,” she said. “To not be afraid, to leave their comfort zone, because that is what you need to do, day in and day out, if you want to become good at something that you didn’t grow up with.” 

“I really enjoy the journey, so, even without ever getting a world championship title, I knew that I was always having a good time, and it’s such a privilege,” she continued. “To spend so much time working on your own skills and physical ability – not many people get to do this so intensely. So, this is something I really appreciate about the whole journey.”

“Loving the process” also helps when things don’t go well. Philipp has, like virtually every top athlete, had to deal with injuries, and had to pull out of the 2021 worlds in St. George (another course that would have suited her) after she tested positive for COVID.

“It’s a nightmare” – COVID stops Laura Philipp from competing at Ironman World Champs in St. George

Philipp would post the day’s fastest run split, too.

Find a team, train smart

Philipp is quick to credit Seipp for her success, too.

“I do have to pinch myself sometimes, or pinch Phillip, (and say) we really need to be proud of what we have done,” she said. “I’m competing against world class athletes who … (have done) stuff that I have never done, or that I will probably never be able to do. I think what was so exciting about this course is that it’s not only about physical talent power. It was also about skill. And this is something that I really enjoy – the technical aspect of swim, bike and run. If you try to train smart and put a lot of focus on technical skills, it will definitely pay off.”

All smiles as she takes the world title.

Confidence

“I’m still working on my swimming and that will be key to actually have a chance of winning the world championship in Hawaii because of the course and the group dynamics,” she said. “This will definitely lift me up mentally – this will give me the belief that I can do it.”