Laura Philipp shatters fastest Ironman record in epic duel for European Championship win

The showdown between Germany’s Laura Philipp and Great Britain’s Kat Matthews at Ironman Hamburg, European Championship, was nothing short of legendary – again. It came down to another dual on the run between Philipp and Matthews, with the results shaking out the same as the last time the two went head-to-head. This time, in record-breaking performances.

Last time the two faced-off was in Nice at the 2024 Ironman World Championship in a battle that saw Philipp take the crown. In Hamburg, Matthews was in the lead on the run, pacing for a 2:37 marathon, but couldn’t keep Philipp from hunting her down. Just past the 8-km mark the German made her move to claim the win and Ironman European Champion title.

But what took the heart-pounding action on the run to an even more incredible level was the take-down of Matthews’ record of fastest time ever by a woman on any Ironman course. The record Matthews had set, in finishing time of 8:10:34, just five short weeks ago at Ironman Texas was broken – by both herself and Phillip.

Shaving over five minutes off of her time in Texas, Matthews closed the race in 8:05:13. But it was Philipp that further annihilated the record with a mind-boggling 8:03:13. Both performances were simply incredible, but there can be only one winner. Philipp now stands as the current Ironman World Champion, European Champion and fastest woman ever at the Ironman distance.

Lovseth’s record-breaking Ironman debut

In yet another surprise, Norway’s Solveig Lovseth clinched bronze in her Ironman debut. Lovseth faced a major setback on her way to the podium when her aero bars came loose, with one bar sliding off to the side. She continued to ride at the front in an awkward semi-aero position. She made the decision to sacrifice about a minute to stop at a mechanical tent and have, what appeared to be, a bolt tightened, before getting back out on course and on the chase.

The race didn’t get off to an amazing start, with a delay due to bad weather. The swim started about 45 minutes late, with Matthews leading the front b\pack that included Philipp, Lovseth and Hering. Out of T1 in a tight pack, Lovseth set the pace in front while Hering blew a tire and took a DNF. After Lovseth’s mechanical stop she was trailing Matthews, who made a move on Philipp. Matthews rolled into T2 with just under a minute on Philipp, with Lovseth in third position.

The run started out fast. Too fast, perhaps. Matthews was setting a blazing sub 2:40 marathon pace and stayed in front for most of the race. But it all caught up to her, including Philipp, less than 10 kilometres from the finish line.

Philipp took the win with her record-shattering result as Matthews held onto second, also breaking her own record. Lovseth was another hero on the day holding onto third, despite her mechanical issue, delivering a stunning all-around performance in a dominant debut. Her finishing time of 8:12:18 was another record-setting performance on the day, with the fastest time of any female debut in an Ironman.

German’s Anne Reischmann was nearly nine minutes back when she took fourth, with another German, Lionie Konczalla, rounding out the top five.

Philipp’s performance has turned up the heat and the excitement for an out-of-this-world, record-breaking Ironman Pro Series summer, and an utter epic battle to come in Kona at the women’s Ironman Championship this fall. Women’s Ironman racing has never been so explosive and thrilling to watch.