IRONMAN Hamburg Teases Blockbuster Showdown Featuring Last Three World Champions

The women’s IRONMAN European Championship in Hamburg on June 7 could see the last three women to win the IRONMAN World Championship duel for pre-Kona bragging rights. Defending champion Laura Philipp (GER), the 2024 IRONMAN world champion and Solveig Løvseth (NOR), the reigning world champ, are confirmed for the race, while Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), the 2023 Kona champion, is in “pending the outcome of IRONMAN Lanzarote, taking place this weekend.”

The impressive field will be competing for US$87,500 in prize money and one of the six pro Kona slots up for grabs. As with all the IRONMAN Pro Series events, live coverage will be available on the IRONMAN YouTube channel.

In addition to what promises to be an exciting race just for the win, there will no-doubt be lots of expectations around a potential world-best time and even a sub-eight hour performance in Hamburg. Last year Philipp took the win (her second in a row in Hamburg) in a dramatic battle with Kat Matthews, winning the race in an IRONMAN record time of 8:03:13. Philipp, who had to be hospitalized for a short time earlier this month due to stomach and back pain, bounced back to take third at IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence and will look to defend her title at IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau before heading to Hamburg.

Speaking of Aix-en-Provence, the winner at last weekend’s race, Marjolaine Pierré, is also part of the impressive field competing in Hamburg.

Løvseth Returns to Site of Record-Setting Debut

Last year Løvseth took third in Hamburg behind Philipp and Matthews, chalking up the fastest debut IRONMAN thanks to her 8:12:28 finish. She hasn’t lost a full-distance IRONMAN since, winning in Lake Placid before taking the world title in Kona last October. She kept her winning streak going with an impressive win at IRONMAN Texas last month. With Matthews forced to pull out of Texas and skipping Hamburg to focus on Challenge Roth, a top finish in Hamburg could very well put the Norwegian in a strong position to dethrone Matthews for the IRONMAN Pro Series title – the British star has won the first two editions of the Pro Series.

A number of top-10 finishers from Kona are set to compete in Hamburg as well, including Lisa Perterer, who took fifth on the Big Island last year before taking IRONMAN Cozumel. Britain’s Holly Lawrence, who finished one spot behind Perterer in her first Kona appearance last year, will kick off her 2026 season in Germany. Her countrywoman, India Lee, didn’t fare as well in Kona last year, but did take IRONMAN Les Sables last June, and will be another to watch. Another Brit who will no-doubt be in the mix early in the race is Fenella Langridge, who led the way out of the water at IRONMAN New Zealand earlier this year.

You can add to that list last year’s IRONMAN Western Australia champion, Lotte Wilms (NLD) and Denmark’s Katrine Christensen, who is coming off a runner-up finish at IRONMAN South Africa.

Here’s the pro list for the race in Hamburg:

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