New women’s Ironman record set by Laura Philipp in Hamburg

The reigning Ironman World Champion, Laura Philipp, has set a new Ironman best time in Hamburg at the first triathlon of the 2025 European season.

Records fell as the reigning Iroman World Champion, Laura Philipp (DEU), clocked her second victory in Hamburg finishing in 8:03:13. Kat Matthews (GBR), who dominated the majority of the run and had only recently broken the Ironman record time, came second in 08:05:13.  

The podium was rounded off by Solveig Løvseth who raced a phenomenal 8:12:28, making her the fastest IRONMAN professional woman on debut.

Stormy skies

Race morning began with dramatic skies as a stormy start to the day led to a delayed swim start. Despite the weather, anticipation remained high, and the energy around Alster Lake was electric as the professional women took to the water. 

Undeterred by the delay, this fast-paced swim kicked off at Alster lake. A strong lead pack consisting of Kat Matthews, Laura Philipp, Solveig Løvseth and Jackie Hering (USA) quickly formed and took charge of the Roka swim course. The quartet exited the water within seconds of each other, with Kat Matthews leading the way, followed by Laura Philipp, Solveig Løvseth and Jackie Hering a couple of meters behind.

Leaving T1 and onto the bike, the pack of four began to set the pace. Around 30km into the Zoot bike course Solveig Løvseth’s left aero bar came loose, leaving her bike computer was hanging off; however, that did not stop this tenacious Norwegian on her Ironman debut who, after receiving mechanical support, quickly bridged back to the front females and remained in a strong position most of the way. 

The chase is on

Matthews, Philipp and Løvseth remained up front, with a chase pack made up of Marjolaine Pierre (FRA), Anne Reischmann (DEU), Els Visser (NLD) and Jenny Jendryschik (DEU) over five minutes behind. The pro women saw the best sights of Hamburg, such as the Landungsbrücken piers, the fish market and the UNESCO-listed Speicherstadt out into the idyllic Vier- und Marschlande as they cruised round the two-loop bike course, before Matthews led the race into T2.  

First out of T2 and on to the HOKA run course was Matthews, closely followed by Philipp only 30 seconds behind, with Løvseth firmly in third. Philipp continued to apply the pressure on the run, until she caught the Brit with less than 10km to go. Philipp, who remained focused and controlled throughout, finally let the emotions sink in as she crossed the finish line as a two-time Ironman European Champion, and owner (yet again) of the fastest recorded Ironman time for a professional woman. 

Philipp said: “It was absolutely mental, we (Laura and Kat) were kind of glued together for the entire race…it was super tough and for a long time it looked like Kat would win. I just tried to remain calm and patient, because a marathon is a long game, and luckily it paid off that I let her go a little bit and just did my own thing. The crowd was crazy, they were screaming, and it was next level cheering that really helped me big time to go all out on the last lap. I am still speechless… I am super super proud.”

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