TENBY was the destination for this year’s edition of IRONMAN Wales as Franziska Hofmann (DEU) and Lewis Eccleston (GBR) were crowned champions with the times of 09:42:24 and 09:34:02 respectively.

The race started with a beautiful still morning on Tenby North beach as the Army Red Devils sky dived from a plane to the backdrop of the sun rising.

Thousands of spectators lined the beach and sea wall as the Welsh National anthem bellowed out towards the water.

The two-loop 2.4-mile (3.8 km) swim with an Aussie Exit in between saw the professional females head off followed by the age group athletes.

On completion of the swim the athletes headed up the infamous long run up the “zig zag” ramp into transition to rapturous crowds in an unforgettable experience that has to be seen to believe.

Athletes then headed onto the two-loop 112-mile (180.2 km) bike course which took them through the scenic countryside of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and up the incredible Heartbreak Hill as thousands of spectators lined each side of the road with a Tour de France style stage feel.

The race culminated in a testing four-loop 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run through the hilly medieval town of Tenby before heading onto the famous red carpet finish line.

At the finish line, the female champion Franziska Hofmann, after claiming her first ever IRONMAN victory said: “Everything was hurting I thought I’ll never ever do this but with all the crowds and the atmosphere it carried me all day and I felt at one with all this. It was super special!”

Male champion Lewis Eccleston, fresh from winning IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton earlier in the season, added: “Out on that course, the support was absolutely unbelievable.

“There’s nothing like it around the world. This is the best. This is as good as it gets.

“Everybody really embraces the race and I’m just really grateful for the support.

“People are still out there cheering and will be late into the evening. Absolutely brilliant!”

50% of the athletes were taking on their first ever IRONMAN race, with 64% of the field doing IRONMAN Wales for the first time.

92% of the athletes were from the UK, with athletes also flying in from Germany, the US and Belgium to compete.

In line with the growing interest of younger athletes, the average age of participants was 38.99, and the 30-34 age category was the largest, making up almost 18% of the field.

Former professional rugby player and Welsh international, Shane Williams, completed yet another IRONMAN Wales with a time of 11:55:42.

Luke Ambler, the former professional rugby player turned endurance athlete, business owner, speaker and a leading voice in men’s mental health, completed his ‘Mission Possible’ for his charity ANDYSMANCLUB.

After representing Ireland and competing in Super League for the Leeds rhinos, Luke now channels his drive into endurance sport; having tackled some of the toughest IRONMAN events in the world, from Lanzarote to Bolton.

In 2025, Luke and his close friend Jonny set out to take on a powerful mission: to complete all five UK IRONMAN events; including full and 70.3 distances as part of their campaign Mission Possible for ANDYSMANCLUB.

The goal wasn’t just to test physical limits, but to raise awareness of men’s mental health and break down the stigma surrounding it.

It’s also been to encourage others to find their possible and push their limits of what they believe is possible.

Luke is the founder of ANDYSMANCLUB, one of the UK’s fastest growing mental health charities, supporting over 6,000 men every week through more than 300 free peer-support groups nationwide.

Through IRONMAN, Luke is using the power of fitness to spark conversations, inspire hope and let men know it’s OK to talk.

Every finish line Luke crosses is about more than personal achievement; it’s a message to men everywhere that strength comes in reaching out, speaking up and not staying silent.

Luke has smashed his goal and completed his journey at IRONMAN Wales with a final time of 14:25:51.

Full results for the 2025 IRONMAN Wales triathlon can be found at https://www.ironman.com/races/imwales/results.

For additional event information, please visit https://www.ironman.com/races/im-wales