Show Notes
In September of this year, Germany's Laura Philipp was crowned the 2024 Vinfast IRONMAN World Champion in a thrilling race in Nice, France. Her rise to the top step of the IRONMAN World Championship podium has seen her achieve lots of success in a sport that was never even on her radar for many years, in fact she only learned how to swim when she was 24, something that has certainly not held her back from becoming a world class triathlete and one of the sport's most successful athletes.
Her professional career took off after taking victory at IRONMAN 70.3 in Mallorca in 2016, and since then, Laura has consistently climbed the ranks, securing titles and podium finishes around the world. She is a multiple IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Champion, the 2022 Ironman European Champion, the 2023 IRONMAN African Champion and IRONMAN 70.3 European Champion, she finished in 3rd place in Kona last year and this year she achieved her dream of becoming the IRONMAN World Champion.
Laura shares lots of insight about many aspects of her life as an athlete from the importance of aligning her training to her menstrual cycle, to balancing her fuelling needs as a vegetarian with the demands of her training and racing schedule. With her number one supporter; her husband Philipp by her side every step of the way taking on multiple roles as husband, coach, business partner and bike mechanic to name a few, she shares some snippets into life together chasing goals and the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between professional and personal life.
Laura's happiness is infectious, she believes a happy athlete is a fast athlete, her enjoyment of a piece of cake every day important in ensuring she gets the balance right in life even at the highest level of sporting success. Her 'train smart, have fun and kick ass' mantra is one that we could all benefit from embracing as we each strive to pursue our own ambitions in sport and in life.
This episode is packed with fun and laughter, motivation and actionable insights for athletes and fans alike. Whilst we don't go into the specifics of her World Championship victory in Nice, we do get to know Laura on a personal level and discover just some of the formula of what it takes to become an IRONMAN World Champion
More from Tri Talking Sport
Jen Done didn't grow up sporty. She swam a bit as a youngster, tagging along to galas beside a sister who was the 'sporty one of the family' and other than a handful of pre-baby marathons, a life in sport was never really part of her master plan. Seven years ago, after the birth of her daughter, she found herself in a very different kind of race, a race against postnatal depression so severe she could not get out the front door, convinced her husband and daughter would be better off without her. Dismissed as "baby blues" by three separate doctors before a female GP finally gave her the diagnosis and help she needed. Somewhere in the middle of it all, her husband suggested she try running again; she managed 30 seconds out the door and back. It was enough to change everything. That 30 seconds became a habit, and the habit snowballed; an IRONMAN 70.3 in Weymouth, her first full IRONMAN in Hamburg, the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona in 2023 racing with the IRONMAN Foundation. She launched her own podcast, 'The Toughest Finish Line', to share other people's stories of using sport to fight through trauma and mental health struggles and she is also a triathlon coach. A little over three weeks ago, Jen took on her biggest challenge yet: two full IRONMAN races, on consecutive days, in two different countries. IRONMAN Kalmar in Sweden on Saturday and IRONMAN Copenhagen in Denmark 24 hours later. In this episode Jen recalls and shares insight into her Viking IRONMAN adventure, the highs and the lows, the chaos to the calmness, from lost luggage, to the hectic hours before the race weekend even started and the nausea that almost derailed her ambitious racing plans which saw her become an eight time IRONMAN. Jen talks openly about her postnatal depression and the transformational journey she has been on since that 30 second run seven years ago. She reflects on what she's learned about her own capacity to cope, how strong she is and how far removed this version of herself is from the woman who once couldn't leave the house. This is a lovely episode centred on courage, resilience, self-belief and the importance of a loving support crew to help you take one small step at a time, even when that small step seems impossible.
British professional triathlete Harry Palmer recently took the title for the third year in a row at IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea, an accomplishment that is not often achieved in sport.
Aisling Wyer is an Irish triathlete and member of Naas Triathlon Club who has achieved impressive results at home and abroad all whilst working full time as a solicitor.
Endurance adventurer Sean Conway has lived a life defined by adventure, resilience and a relentless desire to do hard things. Driven by curiosity and an appetite for pushing beyond what most consider possible, Sean has built a career out of testing the very edges of human endurance.
Our first guests of 2026 are familiar names in endurance sport here in Ireland; Rob Cummins and Aisling Coppinger who share with us an honest and inspiring conversation about life, love and longevity in sport.