Just over a month ago, Laura Philipp made a last-minute decision to pull out of Challenge Roth, admitting she wasn’t anywhere near the form required to perform at her best over the full distance. Today, the German superstar proved she has well and truly found her stride, not just winning Ironman Kalmar, but completely dismantling the competition.
The margin of victory was staggering. In the time between Philipp crossing the line and her nearest rivals finishing, she could have comfortably showered, grabbed groceries, and started a load of laundry.
Philipp exited the water in third place, trailing America’s Rachel Zilinskas by 3:19 minutes, surrounded by a dense pack including Linda Brännlund, Jackie Hering, Antonia Milowsky, Johanna Ahrens, and Jenny Jendryschik.
That turned out to be the only phase of the race where Philipp had any company.
Once on the bike, she immediately broke away from the chase group, hunting down Zilinskas to take the lead just past the 30-kilometer mark. Zilinskas attempted to respond, but nobody had an answer for the German’s relentless pace. Denmark’s Katrine Græsbøll Christensen matched Philipp’s bike split most closely – moving up into second place – yet still surrendered another two minutes to the leader, heading into T2 with a 5:30 deficit.
With Philipp heading onto her signature marathon leg, the outcome was all but sealed. She doubled her lead within the first ten kilometers of the run, effectively locking down the race.
Philipp claimed victory in an extraordinary 8:13:37, well clear of Græsbøll Christensen, who took second in 8:32:22. Hering rounded out the podium to take bronze in 8:34:45.
