Overview

• Laura Philipp returns to Hamburg as reigning world champion and course record-holder following her win at last week’s Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau.
• Kat Matthews enters the race off a March victory at Ironman Texas where she set the fastest time for a women’s Ironman distance.
• Both contenders have framed the European Championship as a strategic preparation for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this October.
• Defending Hamburg champion Jackie Hering leads a deep women’s field that includes several former podium finishers and rising stars.
• Sunday’s race will serve as a final gauge of each athlete’s form before the season’s culminating title event in Hawaii.