When Mike Phillips won Ironman New Zealand for the first time in 2019 in a time of 08:05:08, he quietly fancied his chances of returning to tick off the 226 tough km’s of Taupo at a much swifter clip.
Fast-forward to Saturday, via a second win here in 2023 (07:56:05) and plenty of other IM highs and lows at home and abroad in between, and the Cantabrian delivered on that promise in spades.
There’s so much to take in from Phillips’ third win, we’ll start at the top-line numbers and work our way down the list of impressive stats.
Phillips’ winning effort of 7:45:47 slashed a ridiculous 8mins 30secs off the previous record, set by Brit Joe Skipper in 2020 when he denied Phillips back-to-back titles by nearly seven minutes.
In a sweet twist of fate, the positions were reversed on Saturday with Skipper 2nd – 3mins to the second behind Phillips.
Jack Moody, the 31-year-old Aucklander who won the IMNZ 70.3 title in Taupo in late 2022, finished a further 25sec adrift to round out the podium, impressively nailing a debut IM World Championships slot in his first crack at the Taupo full.
Late bloomer Regan Hollioake, in just her second year in the pro ranks, continued her rise to stardom by adding Taupo to her 2023 wins in Australia and Malaysia. The 35-year-old Aussie won in 8:51:30, finishing just over five minutes clear of two-time IMNZ champion Joceyln McCauley (USA/8:56:52) with Switzerland’s Nina Derron third in 8:57:48.
But for the Taupo faithful, this was Phillips’ moment in a race that saw the top four finishers – Tahitian Benjamin Zorgnotti just missed the podium in 7:53:49 – beat Skipper’s 2020 mark.
The quiet Kiwi achiever not so much returned serve on Skipper for 2020, he smashed it out of the park. This was a masterclass across all three disciplines and spoke of Phillips’ “home course” knowledge – and plenty of cunning to give noted runner Moody little more than a faint sniff of victory in the marathon.
“It’s a bit surreal,” Phillips said after knocking 10mins 18sec off his own Taupo PB, set in 2023.
“It’s just awesome to put it all together, have a good swim, bike, and run, and win the race. The first time I won [in 2019], I thought I could go quite a lot faster than I did. It’s taken me five or six years to actually come and set the record here.”
The “home” crowds certainly helped as first noted runner Moody, and then fast-finishing Skipper, probed on the run.
“It’s amazing racing at home in front of a home crowd, there’s so much support out there for us Kiwis. It was awesome to bring it home in the end.”
How it played out
The men’s race was tight from the get-go, Zorgnotti leading out of a glassy and surprisingly warm Lake Taupo with a 47:49 split for the 3.8km
Eight men exited within 16 seconds of the leader, including Moody, Mikel Ugarte Ramos (ESP), Phillips, Tim Van Berkel (AUS), Pim Van Diemen (NLD), Arnaud Guilloux (FRA), and Matt Kerr (NZL), while Skipper had a deficit of 3min 30sec to make up.
Kerr dropped from the lead group early but the pack of seven remained together for more than 110km before athletes began to split apart. Phillips rode strong at the front and would arrive first into T2, having made a small break with just a few kilometres to go.
The Kiwi rode 4:12:07, which would have been a new bike course best, to go with his marathon record (2:40:04 set in 2019) were it not for the storming ride of Skipper, the Brit back in 4:10:29 to sail in under the previous best by nearly two minutes.
That ride left Skipper +2:20 down on Phillips, while Moody was third into T2 with a deficit of 1:41 to his compatriot.
Phillips was then imperious throughout the 42.2km run, maintaining an unrelenting pace to the tape.
“I guess I know this course pretty well,” he said afterwards.
“I know the return leg on the bike is pretty tough – headwind and slightly uphill. I tried to save a bit of energy for that and, as we were coming up the hill, I wasn’t really trying to pull away, I was just trying to keep the gap to the likes of Joe Skipper. Then I turned around and no one was there. I was happy to take a couple-of-minute lead starting the run.”
“That really put me in control and meant I could settle my own pace starting the run. I just paced that how I felt I needed to, the other guys came at me and fell back again and came at me and fell back. I’m just really happy that I was able to hold on to the end.”
Moody put the foot down on the first lap of the run before Skipper too gave it to Phillips. But the combination of his lead off the bike and a swift 2:40:52 marathon – just 48sec shy of his own course record – meant Phillips was not to be denied.
“I guess a lot of people see the last couple of races and Jack’s beaten me on the run by a fair bit, but when I came off the bike first, I just thought, well, I’m the fastest that’s run here ever before, so they’ve still got to come and catch me now,” said Phillips.
“Jack’s a phenomenal runner, so I had to keep my wits about me. I pushed the pace during the first half just to keep the gap – I wasn’t too keen on running side by side with him.
“It was an amazing race.”
“Dream come true”
Hollioake made her pro debut in Taupo 12-months ago, finishing 4th. A year later, she broke down in tears making sense of the biggest win of her late blossoming career.
“This is such a historical race, such a special race. To be on the winner’s list with such amazing company is just a dream come true,” said Hollioake.
“It’s amazing, honestly, it’s one of the best races in the world. It’s so incredible, to do my first pro race here last year and then to come back this year and win is just amazing.”
Napier vet Heather Neill, the only Kiwi in the pro women’s field, was 12th in 10:35:06 – just under 1h 44mins behind Hollioake.
2025 ANZCO Foods Ironman NZ – Top 5 Pro Results
Men
1. Mike Phillips (NZL) – 7:45:47
2. Joe Skipper (GBR) – 7:48:47
3. Jack Moody (NZL) – 7:49:12
4. Benjamin Zorgnotti (PYF) – 7:53:49
5. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) – 7:56:00
ALSO (NZL)
7. Ben Hamilton – 7:59:32
13. Matt Kerr – 8:29:23
16. Scott Harpham – 8:47:56
19. Mike Tong – 9:33:50
Women
1. Regan Hollioake (AUS) – 8:51:30
2. Joceyln McCauley (USA) – 8:56:52
3. Nina Derron (SUI) – 8:57:48
4. Gabrielle Lumkes (USA) – 9:08:56
5. Kate Gillespie-Jones (AUS) – 9:20:00
ALSO (NZL)
12. Heather Neill – 10:35:06
