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Triathlete Laura Philipp
Photo: Georg Wendt / dpa
Top favorite Laura Philipp successfully defended her title at the Ironman European Championships in Hamburg and achieved the best time by a woman in an Ironman race worldwide.
The triathlete came out on top on Sunday after 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers on the bike and a marathon around the Inner and Outer Alster in 8:18:20 hours.
She repeated her success from a year ago in Kuopio-Tahko, Finland.
No woman has ever been faster than her in an Ironman race.
Only in the competition series Challenge in Roth 2011 did Brit Chrissie Wellington finish seven seconds earlier over the same distance.
Philipp missed this time because she had to go to the toilet on the second change from bike to run.
Back in shape after Corona infection
Just a week earlier, the 35-year-old from Heidelberg had won the half-length Ironman 70.3 in Kraichgau.
At the beginning of May, she had to cancel her participation in the Ironman World Championships in St. George, Utah, which was made up for in 2021, due to a corona infection.
The 2019 World Cup fourth-placed in Hawaii decided at short notice to start in Hamburg.
The men's European Championship will take place as part of the Ironman in Frankfurt/Main on June 26th.
cev/dpa
