Ioan Hepburn
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| Born | 31 March 2008[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ioan Hepburn (born 31 March 2008) is a British cyclist from Wales. He won gold medals in the team sprint competition at both the 2025 Junior World Championships and 2025 European Junior Championships.
Career
From Cross Ash, Monmouthshire, he was educated at Monmouth Comprehensive School. Hepburn started racing downhill mountain bikes at the age eight years-old. However, following a crash, he lost a kidney at the age of 13 years-old in 2021. His talent for riding was first spotted while he was using a watts bike at the Usk Agricultural Show. He then became part of the Wales Racing Academy.[2][3]
Hepburn won the gold medal in the team sprint making his debut for Great Britain at the 2025 UEC European Junior Track Championships in Anadia, Portugal in July 2025.[4][5] The following month, Hepburn won the gold medal in the team sprint competition at the 2025 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.[6][7]
Hepburn was named in the Wales team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[8][9] Competing at the Games he was part of the Wales team that qualified for the bronze race against Trinidad and Tobago in the team sprint, however he was forced to pull out prior to the start of the race due to ill health.[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Ioan Hepburn". First Cycling. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Bryer, Gareth (24 August 2025). "'I'm a cycling world champion at 17 after pulverising my kidney'". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ "Teen track stars show Dutch of class in Omnisport Arena". abergavennychronicle.com. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ "Three Welsh Riders Selected for 2025 UCI Junior Track World Championships". beiciocymru.org. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "Six Medals for Wales: Standout Performances at 2025 European Track Championships". beiciocymru.org. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ "From Downhill Crash to Track World Champion – Ioan Hepburn's Incredible Journey". beiciocymru.org. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ↑ Hartland, Nick (6 September 2025). "Ioan turns on the class to take world cycling gold". Abergaveny Chrinicle. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Richards, Andrew (19 June 2026). "Team Wales named for Glasgow Commonwealth Games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Birt, Elizabeth (18 July 2026). "Monmouthshire cyclist Ioan Hepburn to represent Wales". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ "Wales women's team sprint cyclists to race for gold". BBC News. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Opening night cycling joy for Wales in Velodrome". BBC Sport. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.