History was made on the Côte d’Azur today, as Laura Philipp of Germany became the first woman to win the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France. Phillip captured her first IRONMAN World Championship title taking home $125,000 USD in prize money after finishing with a third and two fourths in her previous IRONMAN World Championship attempts.
“It was really one of those days, it was super tough,” said Philipp at the finish line. “I have no idea about my swim time, but I think it wasn’t too bad. I definitely over did it [on the bike], but once I caught Marjolaine [Pierré], I knew I had a chance. I thought ok, let’s push it on the bike as hard as possible and I think I overdid it a bit, but I really wanted to catch Marjolaine and Kat [Matthews] at the front. Once I caught up, I couldn’t get rid of them, and it was a bit of cat-and-mouse. I knew it was going to be tough, but I just tried to believe and tell myself I could actually do it. I am so grateful to my body for holding out. This course was so beautiful but so, so tough.”
Despite cramping in the final miles, Great Britian’s Kat Matthews capped off a world-class performance to earn her second IRONMAN World Championship second place finish, while 2022 IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro from the United States ran her way into in third position to round out the podium.
Cooler conditions during the week meant that the water temperature in the Mediterranean Sea dropped enough to result in a wetsuit legal swim on race morning. Once in the water, the 41 professional triathletes that lined up on the shores of the Plage des Ponchettes were faced with choppier than expected conditions, with the swell mixing up the swim dynamics from the opening strokes.
The pack broke up early in the 3.8km swim as Marta Sanchez (ESP) hit the front, with Fenella Langridge (GBR), Rebecca Clarke (NZL) and Lauren Brandon (USA) right on her feet. The lead group pushed ahead, working hard to open up a gap to the chasers,
Langridge was first to exit the water in 49:13, less than a second clear of Sanchez with Clarke third. Brandon returned to shore just behind Clarke, with Lotte Wilms (NLD) and Hannah Berry (NZL) following them into transition. Langridge and Clarke pushed hard through transition, hitting the FulGaz Bike Course alongside each other and 14 seconds up on Berry, with Brandon just behind. Early drama on the bike ended the day for 2019 IRONMAN World Champion Anne Haug (DEU) following a mechanical issue shortly after leaving transition, in addition to Rachel Zilinskas (USA) who exited the race following a crash.
Meanwhile, the early mover on the bike was French athlete Marjolaine Pierré, who lives and trains in Nice. Pierré worked her way up from 10th out of the water to hit the lead after 10km on the bike, pushing hard through the opening flat stages of the ride.
While Pierré continued to lead the way following the first climb of the day, there was plenty of movement behind her with Kat Matthews riding ahead of the pack in second and Laura Philipp working her way through the field into third as they passed the first 50km of riding. Philipp and Matthews then bridged the gap to Pierré at the midway point of the ride, hitting the front and putting time into the French athlete as they began the descent from the plateau. The leading pair swapped positions a number of times over the closing stages of the 180km bike leg, before riding into transition almost side-by-side.
Matthews was first onto the four-lap 42.2km HOKA Run course, just two seconds clear of Philipp, with Pierré 6:50 behind in third. Philipp quickly caught Matthews and the two matched stride for stride, jostling for position for the first 12km before Philipp started to pull ahead. The move proved to be a decisive one as Philipp started to produce a growing lead that she would never relinquish.
Behind the two frontrunners, several women set out to chase the final podium spot. American Chelsea Sodaro proved the strongest, quickly moving up from fourth to third in the early stages of the run and holding on to secure her second podium finish at an IRONMAN World Championship race.
Top five professional women’s results:
News and Notes
- In winning her first IRONMAN World Championship title, Laura Philipp (DEU) earned her sixth IRONMAN victory.
- Kat Matthews’ (GBR) result today leaves her with two second place finishes at the IRONMAN World Championship, her other podium coming at the 2021 IRONMAN World Championship in St. George, Utah.
- Fenella Langridge (GBR) was first athlete out of the water, closely followed by Marta Sanchez (ESP), both clocking the fastest swim times of the day with 49:13.
- Following a back-and-forth chase in the final kilometers of the course, Philipp secured the fastest bike split of the day with a time of 5:05:25, just ahead of Matthews who finished with a time of 5:05:46.
- Philipp also bagged the fastest run split of day with an incredible 2:44:59 marathon, setting a new IRONMAN World Championship women’s run best (*Previous IRONMAN World Championship run best time of 2:48:23 was set in 2023 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i by Anne Haug (DEU)).
- Part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, the women’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship awarded 6,000 points to the race winner, with every second behind the race winner equating to a point lost. Philipp claimed maximum points, with Matthews earning 5,515 to move up her three places in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings to second.
- Several athletes also moved up the Pro Series standings, with Lotte Wilms (NLD) leaping eight places to fifth, Daniela Bleymehl (DEU) up two places to sixth, Hannah Berry (NZL) climbing seven places to seventh, and Fenella Langridge (GBR) up two places to eighth.