It came down to the finish in Hamburg, where twists, turns and difficult weather reshuffled the top five throughout the race with Solveig Løvseth narrowly edging out Laura Philipp although she admitted afterwards that she wasn’t sure she’d make it to the finish.
Solveig Løvseth celebrates after winning the 2026 European Pro Series Ironman Championship (Photo by Alexander Körner/Getty Images for Ironman) (Image: Getty Images for Iron Man)
Updated on June 7, 2026 at 09:07 PM
After emerging from the water more than four minutes behind the leader, Solveig Lovseth (NOR) got to work on the bike, eventually working her way into second place. Once I took the lead before the marathon three-mile mark, victory seemed secure. But striker Laura Philipp (Germany) had other ideas, as she reduced the deficit to just one minute before the end. Both athletes collapsed Shortly after crossing the line, it was a clear sign that they had pushed each other to the absolute limit.
After Philippe set the fastest women’s Ironman time last year (8:03:13), all eyes were once again on Hamburg to see if another fast performance could be done. Conditions seemed ideal at first, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but Hamburg presented the typical unpredictability as rain, wind and wet roads became factors throughout most of the bike and run.
With Philip still on his way back after that An assignment in the hospital Due to what she described as “very strong stomach and back pain” just over a month ago, the athlete many considered the one to beat was defending world champion Loveseth.
The Norwegian was making her return to racing after her win at Ironman Texas over Cat Matthews. Philip and Matthews beat her in Hamburg a year ago, but this is no longer her first season over the distance, and she continues to improve with each Ironman race.
27 women lined up to compete for the European Championship title, the additional prize money on offer, and some final Kona qualifying places before the qualifying period closes in mid-August.
Notably leading the pace in the swim was Holly Lawrence (UK), who spent some time at the front of the race before emerging in a leading group of five alongside Kate Curran (UK), Lottie Wilms (Netherlands), Fenella Langridge (UK) and Charlotte McShane (AUS). They held a lead of almost three minutes over recent Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence winner Marjolaine Pierre (FRA) and almost four and a half minutes over Filip, Løvseth and India Lee (GBR).
Pierre dominated the race early on the bike, displaying her prowess on two wheels as favorites Philipp and Loveseth slowly made their way through the field. Initially, Filip was able to keep up with Løvseth’s pace, but she gradually began to bleed time during the final stages of the journey – the worst possible time to do so as Løvseth was characteristically pushing the pace at this time.
Phillippe explained after the race that the conditions were the main factor in her struggles on the bike, revealing that the wind almost caused her to crash and that she simply felt lucky to make it safely to T2.
Entering the final quarter of the ride, the 26-year-old Norwegian worked her way into second place and was in direct contact with Pierre, eventually starting the marathon just over 30 seconds behind the Frenchwoman.
This set up what was an inevitable overrun. Løvseth has consistently produced some of the fastest runs in the sport, and after Texas, she admitted that she wasn’t completely satisfied with her marathons and thought she could go faster. Meanwhile, Philip was about nine minutes late, and it seemed like it simply wasn’t going to be her day. Instead of racing for victory, she looked set to compete for one of Kona’s six qualifying places alongside athletes such as Lisa Berterer (Switzerland) and Lee.
Løvseth moved into the lead early in the marathon and quickly opened up a gap, but unlike the Texan, she didn’t look completely comfortable. Grimaces appeared Long before the end, and behind it, Phillip began to stride.
Remarkably, the German made her way back into the competition. After the race, Philip said that “people went crazy for me,” and credited the public’s support for helping carry her through the marathon. Slowly but surely, she got the better of a tired Løvseth in the nick of time, turning what looked like a straightforward victory into a thrilling finish.
Somehow, Loveseth managed to hold on.
“I had never pushed myself as hard as I did in those last few kilometres… I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the end.”
Behind them, Katrin Griesbøll Christensen (Denmark) gave perhaps the Ironman performance of her career. The Dane produced the third fastest bike and second fastest marathon of the day (2:45:45) finishing third in 8:15:20 and was left speechless afterwards. With her focus on the Ironman Pro Series, she will impressively look to continue securing more points at Ironman 70.3 Elsinore in just two weeks.
With this victory, Løvseth now has one hand on the Ironman Pro Series title, having amassed nearly three perfect points over her opening races. Attention will likely start to shift towards the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Kona later this season.
For Philip, another full-distance race arrives quickly. And it’s not easy. A showdown with Cat Matthews on July 5 in the Ruth Challenge and possibly the race to break the women’s eight-hour barrier.
