German Laura Philipp pulled away from Brit Kat Matthews in the 26.2-mile run to become the second-oldest woman to win an Ironman World Championship.
Philipp, 37, and Matthews, 33, were even going into the run following the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike.
Philipp opened up a gap around the seven-mile mark of the marathon run and ultimately won comfortably in 8 hours, 45 minutes, 15 seconds in the first women’s world title race held in Nice. Matthews finished 8:05 back.
“It was a bit of cat and mouse with Kat, something I already got used to over some races in the past,” Philipp said.
IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Results
Chelsea Sodaro was third, two years after she became the first American woman or man to win an Ironman world title since 2002.
The only woman older then Philipp to win the Ironman was Swiss Natascha Badmann, who claimed the last two of her six world titles at ages 37 and 38 in 2004 and 2005.
Philipp became the oldest woman to win her first Ironman world title and the second German woman to win after Anne Haug in 2019.
In her three previous Ironman World Championships, Philipp placed fourth in 2019 and 2022 and third in 2023, a race won by Brit Lucy Charles-Barclay. Charles-Barclay withdrew from her title defense on Saturday due to a leg muscle strain.
In 2022, Philipp recorded what has been listed as the world’s fastest women’s half Ironman in history -- 3:53:03 in Dubai.
The Ironman World Championship had been held exclusively in Hawaii from its inception in 1978 through 2019. Starting last year, organizers split the men’s and women’s races with one in Nice and the other in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, alternating years, through 2026.
That change was made so that the two fields can “have a focused” race experience.
Philipp’s marathon run time on Sunday -- 2:44:59 -- was 3:24 faster than the Kona course record time set by Haug in 2023.
