Rhys Jones (born 30 June 1994) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

from

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

competing in category T37 sprinting events. Jones qualified for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

in the 100m and 200m sprint. Making the final of the 200m at his first major games. From Clydach Vale, Rhondda

History

Jones was born in

Church Village Church Village () is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The village is centrally located being around from the lo ...

near Pontypridd in Wales in 1994. Jones, who has cerebral palsy, played football for a pan-disability side before switching to athletics after attending a Disability Sports Wales trial. He attended his first junior competition, in Blackpool in 2008, winning four gold medals in the T37 category. By 2010 he was entering senior championships, competing in sprints and the long jump in the 2008 CP National Championships in Nottingham. In 2011 Jones entered events across Europe taking first place at the Czech Open. He posted two personal bests in 2012, 12.25s in the 100m sprint at Birmingham and 25.24s in the 200m in the London Disability Athletics Challenge. He qualified for the

in both 100m and 200m sprint. He followed his first Paralympic Games by qualifying for this

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 World Para Athletics Championships, IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 Jul ...

in Lyon finishing 7th in the 100m and 8th in the 200m. In 2014 Jones was named in the

squad for the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

in Glasgow. He ran in the T37 100m, qualifying through the first heat in second place with a time of 12.10 and in the final he posted a time of 12.04 to take the bronze medal. The following year Jones was named in the Great Britain team for the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

in Doha. He competed in the T47 100 metres, and qualified through the first heat in fourth place. The next day, in the final, he finished eighth in a time of 12.12. In 2016 Jones competed at the IPC Grand Final at the Olympic Park in London. Now focusing solely on the 100 metres sprint, he finished third in a time of 11.87, a season's best. Jones' results in 2016 saw him qualify for the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio. Competing in the Men's 100 metres T37 he qualified as a fastest loser in the heats.

References

External links

Rhys Jones
at

Welsh Athletics Welsh Athletics (WA; ) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Wales. It was set up as a limited company in 2007, replacing the former Athletic Association of Wales. Welsh Athletics is part of UK Athletics, the national governing body ...

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rhys 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Church Village Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Welsh male sprinters British male sprinters Track and field athletes with disabilities Welsh disabled sportspeople Paralympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games People educated at St John the Baptist School, Aberdare Welsh Paralympic competitors Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics