2026 Race Report

After being postponed from October 2025, the Wild Horse Llandudno Triathlon & Duathlon returned this weekend with a packed day of racing on the North Wales coast.

The event played host to the inaugural Celtic Cup, with elite athletes representing Wales, Scotland and Ireland battling to be crowned the first winning nation. The weekend also featured Stage 3 of the Welsh Triathlon Super Series, the Welsh National Sprint Triathlon Championships and a World Triathlon Age Group Qualifier for the duathlon.

Blustery conditions throughout the event build-up continued into race day, with strengthening winds on Sunday morning forcing organisers to shorten the swim courses for both the Sprint and Standard Triathlon events in the interests of athlete safety.

Sprint Triathlon

The day's racing got underway at 9:45am as the Sprint athletes took to the water, setting the stage for an exciting day of competition. Zachary Beddows delivered a dominant performance to claim the overall Sprint title in an impressive 58:23. Whilst we was not the first out of the water ,Beddows completed the swim in 7:39, before immediately taking control on the bike. His superb 31:23 bike split gave him a comfortable advantage heading into the run. From there he never looked under pressure, backing it up with another race-leading 17:36 run to secure victory by just over three minutes.

Behind him, Gruffudd Lewis produced the fastest bike performance among the chasing pack. After exiting the swim over a minute behind Beddows, Lewis rode strongly with a 30:57 bike split to move firmly into second place. Although he continued to chase throughout the run, his 19:16 run split wasn't enough to close the gap as he finished in 1:01:27. The battle for third went to Dylan Gwynne-Jones, who was first out of the water after an outstanding 7:28 swim. He remained in podium contention throughout the bike, recording a 34:01 split, before a solid 19:37 run secured third place in 1:03:06.

Just behind the podium, Daniel Perkins produced one of the strongest runs of the day. After leaving transition in fourth following a 36:22 bike, he clocked an impressive 18:06 run split to comfortably hold fourth overall in 1:04:57. Rounding out the top five was Andrew Jones, who raced consistently across all three disciplines. A strong swim, steady bike and sub-20-minute run earned him fifth place in 1:05:17.

The women's race once again belonged to Rhian Roxburgh, who controlled proceedings from start to finish to win convincingly in 1:08:15. Roxburgh was among the first swimmers onto the bike after completing the swim in 8:11, before extending her lead with an excellent 36:22 bike split. She then capped off an outstanding performance with the fastest women's run of the day, covering the 5km in 21:22 to take victory by almost nine minutes.

The race for the remaining podium places was much closer. Katie Evans secured second place in 1:17:03 after producing a consistent performance throughout the race. She exited the swim just behind the leaders before riding strongly with a 42:52 bike split and holding her position with a solid 22:49 run.

Only eight seconds behind was Victoria Cole, whose race followed a different pattern. Cole enjoyed one of the quickest swims in the women's field, completing the opening leg in 8:25, and stayed firmly in podium contention throughout the bike. A composed 21:58 run ensured she crossed the line third in 1:17:11, just seconds behind Evans. Fourth and fifth places were separated by just one second in one of the closest finishes of the day. Gwenllian Thomas produced a particularly strong bike ride of 41:21 to move through the field before holding off Emily Musgrave, who recorded the faster run split (22:18) but narrowly missed out by a single second.

Standard Duathlon

The Standard Duathlon got underway at 10:15am, with athletes setting off on the opening run beneath the finish line gantry before heading out onto the bike course. The race also served as a World Triathlon Age Group Qualifier, with competitors battling for both podium places and qualification spots

The Standard Duathlon, saw Matthew Nelson produce a commanding performance to take the overall title in 2:00:36. Nelson led from the opening run, maintained his advantage with the fastest bike split of the day (1:04:02) and sealed victory with the quickest second run (37:13).

John Macdonald finished second in 2:05:38, while Phil Ellison completed the podium in 2:08:19 after a consistent display across all three disciplines.

Cian Williams and Ross Howcroft-Jones rounded out the top five, both producing strong bike legs to remain in podium contention throughout the race.

In the female race, Tamina Oliver claimed the women's title in 2:19:41, taking control during the bike with the fastest women's cycling split (1:11:45) before comfortably holding her lead on the final run. Lauren Robinson finished second in 2:22:34, recording the fastest second run of the women's field (42:14) to close the gap, while Eleanor Ashcroft secured third in 2:23:17 after a strong all-round performance.

Karina Kaufmann finished fourth, while Brooklyn Wright completed the top five after maintaining consistent performances across both runs and the bike leg.

Standard Triathlon

Lewis Cherry produced a dominant display to take the Standard Triathlon title in 1:54:11. Cherry exited the water amongst the leaders after a 10:46 swim before setting the fastest bike split of the day (1:04:51) to establish a commanding lead. He rounded off the performance with one of the fastest runs of the race (36:33) to secure victory by over two and a half minutes.

Ross Hosking, representing Team Wales, finished second overall in 1:56:47, using the fastest swim of the day (10:37) and a strong bike leg to stay in contention. As the highest-placed Celtic Cup athlete, Hosking secured the inaugural Celtic Cup win for Team Cymru.

Simon Cole completed the overall podium in 1:59:15, producing the fastest runs of the day (36:32) to move into third. Scott Hill and Jason Hanson rounded out the top five.

In the women’s race, Miriam Gilbride, representing Scottish Triathlon, claimed the women's Standard Triathlon title in 2:11:01, while also securing the inaugural Celtic Cup title for Team Scotland. Following a strong 13:02 swim, Gilbride took control with the fastest women's bike split (1:13:24) before holding her advantage on the run.

Victoria Reid finished second in 2:12:57, staying within touching distance throughout the race, while Lucy Marland produced the fastest women's run (40:03) to move into third place in 2:13:13 after making up ground from the bike.

Emma Palfrey finished fourth after recording one of the quickest swims of the day (12:50), while Becky Owen rounded out the top five in 2:20:44 with another strong all-round performance.

Selected 2026 Wild Horse Brewing Co. Llandudno Triathlon & Duathlon results

Sprint Triathlon

Open Category
1. Zachary Beddows 58:23
2. Gruffudd Lewis 1:01:27
3. Dylan Gwynne -Jones 1:03:06

Female Category
1. Rhian Roxburgh 1:08:15
2. Katie Evans 1:17:03
3. Victoria Cole 1:17:11

Standard Duathlon

Open Category
1. Matthew Nelson 2:00:36
2. John Macdonald 2:05:38
3. Phil Ellison 2:08:19

Female Category
1. Tamina Oliver 2:19:41
2. Lauren Robinson 2:22:34
3. Eleanor Ashcroft 2:23:17

Standard Triathlon

Open Category
1. Lewis Cherry 1:54:11
2. Ross Hosking 1:56;47
3. Simon Cole 1:59:15

Female Category
1. Miriam Gilbride: 2:11:01
2. Victoria Reed 2:12:57
3. Lucy Marland 2:13:13