Ronald Jones (19 August 1934 – 30 December 2021) was a British

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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 ...

who competed at two Olympic Games.

Biography

Jones was born on 19 August 1934 in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...

. Jones was running for the Birchgrove Harriers when he finished fourth in the 100 yards event at the

1958 AAA Championships The 1958 AAA Championships was the 1958 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 11 to 12 July 1958 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

. By being the highest placed British athlete in the event he was considered the British 100 yards champion. The following year he finished third behind

Peter Radford Peter Frank Radford (born 20 September 1939) is a former British sprinter, who competed at 100 and 200 metres (and 100 and 220 yards), broke world records, and won Olympic medals, despite having been seriously ill as a child due to a hole in ...

in the 100 yards at the

1959 AAA Championships The 1959 AAA Championships was the 1959 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA). It was held from 10 to 11 July 1959 at White City Stadium White City Stadiu ...

. He won the bronze medal in the men's 4x100 metres relay at the 1962 European Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, alongside

Alf Meakin Alfred F. Meakin (born August 30, 1938) is a retired track and field athlete. Athletics career He represented Great Britain in the men's 100 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He won the bronze medal in the men's 4 × 100 mete ...

Berwyn Jones Thomas Berwyn Jones (13 February 1940 – 12 January 2007) was a Welsh sprint athlete, and rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Rhymney RFC, as a wing, and r ...

, and David Jones. He also won a bronze medal with David England, Nick Whitehead and Berwyn Jones in the 4 x 110 yards relay while competing for Wales at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

in Perth, Australia. He combined with Peter Radford, David Jones and Berwyn Jones to equal the world 4 x 110 yds world record in 1963 with 40.0 secs. Ron held the Welsh 100m record for 27 years until it was beaten by future world 110m hurdles record holder

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became w ...

with 10.29 in 1990. Jones represented Great Britain at two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, starting with the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Tokyo Games. He was Britain's team captain in the 1968 Mexico Games. Jones won another British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the

1969 AAA Championships The 1969 AAA Championships was the 1969 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 1 to 2 August 1969 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

, having previously been classified as British champion in 1968 because of a second place finish behind Paul Nash. After his illustrious athletics career he became either the CEO or MD of three major football clubs in the English leagues. He was also a member of both the Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame and the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. He died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

on 30 December 2021, at the age of 87.Ron Jones
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References

Sources

British Olympic Committee

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ron 1934 births 2021 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales European Athletics Championships medalists Olympic athletes for Great Britain Sportspeople from Aberdare Welsh male sprinters British male sprinters Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics