Laura Philipp may not have had the best of seasons after struggling with injury and illness, but the German showed she was back to her brilliant best with this dominant win at IRONMAN Kalmar.
In what will surely be seen as a warning to her rivals that nobody can rule her out of contention with regard to the big prizes this season, the 2024 World Champion delivered a masterclass on the bike and then eased through to the line with a marathon performance that saw her run solo from start to finish.
Defending champion Katrine Christensen took second place but saw her course record that she set last year smashed by an athlete who will surely now – if she wasn’t already – be installed as one of the favourites for Kona in October.
Third place went to the ever-consistent American Jackie Hering, while the final three slots for the Big Island were taken by Germans Jenny Jendryschik, Leonie Konczalla and Antonia Milowsky.
Swim – Impressive Zilinskas leads the way
America’s Rachel Zilinskas, one of the best swimmers in female triathlon, took an expected early lead and never looked like giving it up as she powered through to open up a handy gap heading into T1.
As the large crowds gathered around the choppy and slightly chilly Kalmar Strait to cheer on the athletes, there was nobody able – or perhaps willing – to try and stay on the toes of the breakaway leader as she ploughed her lone furrow at the head of the race.
Behind her, however, were some serious competitors, including the four Germans Philipp, Johanna Ahrens, Jendryschik and Milowsky; Swede Linda Brännlund; and Hering.
Defending champion Christensen was way back in the field, knowing that her strength would come later on both the bike and run legs.
Zilinskas would have probably wanted, or maybe even expected, a much bigger lead as she exited the water first in a time of 49:17, but the chasers had done well to maintain their challenge, and it was Brännlund who led them out only 3:16 back.
Philipp made the most of Brännlund’s poor transition to exit T1 in second place as she looked to hunt down the American who was well into her ride.
Christensen would start the bike leg more than seven minutes behind.
Bike – Philipp takes control and sets up victory
Zilinskas may have started the bike with a lead of +3.11 over Philipp and the pack of chasers, but it wouldn’t take long for the German to assert her control over proceedings.
Looking controlled, but incredibly quick, she hunted down the American before easing past her and opening up a substantial lead that would continue to stretch all the way through to T2.
Another athlete to make a significant move was Christensen, who had made her way up from tenth to fourth as they hit the 53km mark and would eventually make her way up to second place, where she too would stay for the duration of the leg.
Philipp’s power on the pedals was most evident when crossing the 6km Öland Bridge as she cut her way through strong crosswinds that were clearly causing other riders some problems.
Such was her obvious comfort and high spirits that she even allowed herself a little time to rise out of her TT bars and wave to the large crowds, urging them to get behind her as she closed in on a race-defining ride.
The only real questions left to answer were regarding the size of the gap that Philipp could build on the rest of the field and who could hang onto the heels of Christensen and complete the podium.
While the gap between first and second had stretched out to more than six minutes at one stage, the Dane was able to drag things back a little, and as Philipp completed her bike leg in 4:24:51, Christensen was only at +5:29.
Both athletes came in under the previous bike-best time of 4:34:32, which had been set by Britain’s Corinne Abraham on her way to winning the race in 2018.
Despite being overhauled by both Philipp and Christensen, swim leader Zilinskas had managed to hold on to third place, reaching T2 in 4:35:50 (+7:47), while Jendryschik was fourth (+8:21) and Hering fifth (+10.24).
Heading out onto the run, the race was seemingly Philipp’s to lose, with Christensen setting off more in hope than expectation that she could catch the 2024 IRONMAN World Champion.
Run – Nobody can stop Philipp from taking the win
The only thing that could stop Philipp from taking an emphatic win was either her blowing up or Christensen suddenly coming up with a stunningly quick marathon… neither materialised.
As the German continued on her merry way, it was the Dane who first showed signs of fatigue, having to walk for a period as she reached the 13km point. The fact that she was able to pull herself together and continue shows the level of mental strength that she possesses.
The lead, however, continued to grow, and it was no surprise that Philipp visibly decided to take her foot off the gas and coast her way toward the finishing line, clearly saving her legs for the bigger tests to come in Nice and Kona over the coming months.
With Christensen finishing in second (8:32:22), the drama would come in the fight for third, with Jendryschik the first to press for a podium finish, and then the vastly experienced American Jackie Hering showing her consistency by overhauling the German to cross in a time of 8:34:56.
Hering was +21:19 behind Philip, who had slowed to such an extent that her marathon time was 2:52:57 – way below her personal best of 2:38:27.
Jendryschik took fourth in a time of 8:35:57, and in doing so secured one of the three remaining Kona slots available. The other two were picked up by German pair Leonie Konczalla and Antonia Milowsky, who finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
IRONMAN Kalmar: Women’s results
(Swim: 3.8km – Bike: 180km – Run: 42.2km)
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laura Philipp | GER | 00:52:37 | 04:24:51 | 02:52:57 | 08:13:37 |
| 2 | Katrine Christensen | DEN | 00:56:29 | 04:26:23 | 03:06:08 | 08:32:22 |
| 3 | Jackie Hering | USA | 00:52:40 | 04:35:13 | 03:03:34 | 08:34:56 |
| 4 | Jenny Jendryschik | GER | 00:52:44 | 04:33:05 | 03:06:41 | 08:35:57 |
| 5 | Leonie Konczalla | GER | 00:57:59 | 04:32:12 | 03:06:37 | 08:40:17 |
| 6 | Rachel Zilinskas | USA | 00:49:17 | 04:35:50 | 03:13:05 | 08:41:42 |
| 7 | Antonia Milowsky | GER | 00:52:41 | 04:46:42 | 03:06:12 | 08:48:58 |
| 8 | Linda Brännlund | SWE | 00:52:33 | 04:38:57 | 03:26:16 | 09:01:36 |
| 9 | Johanna Ahrens | GER | 00:52:42 | 04:43:54 | 03:26:07 | 09:05:50 |
| 10 | Mizuki Hirayanagi | JPN | 00:58:10 | 04:47:59 | 03:20:32 | 09:09:54 |
