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Javelin thrower Freya Jones is on a mission to make her father, her family and her adopted country proud at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In many ways it would be a case of déjà vu for Jones, who represented England at the games when they were last held in Glasgow 12 years ago.
The big difference this time around is that Jones would be wearing the red of Wales – the land of her father.
Although dad Alan is a proud Welshman, the eligibility rules back in 2014 meant Jones, who grew up in the south of England, would not have been able to throw for Wales.
But a change in the qualification criteria meant the Harrow AC athlete was able to switch allegiance two years ago and now proudly competes as a Welsh thrower.
After winning her first Welsh title at the Senior Track and Field Championships in Cardiff last weekend, Jones spoke of her personal ambition to be selected for next year’s games.
“It would mean the world, and also to my family,” said the 31-year-old. “And I can't imagine what my dad would be like in the crowd!
“It’s emotional just thinking about it. It's so funny. We were talking about it today as we drove over the Severn Bridge. I swear his accent gets thicker and thicker every single time he drives over it!
“He grew up here in Cardiff. His family are originally from Pembrokeshire, Little Haven. My uncle and my auntie, they are here today. They're from Fairwater in Cardiff, but originally from West Wales.
“My family are always in Little Haven during the summer, so I spent a lot of my childhood here. It’s nice bring it back home.
“My dad’s just so proud, and it's so nice to see. I'm not only doing it for him, but my family, and obviously the whole country.”
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Jones was delighted to win her first Welsh title and has thoroughly enjoyed the experience of competing as a Welsh athlete.
“We might be small, but also we've got such pride here,” she said after being presented with her gold medal.
“And I really hope athletics here can push on, because we've got some really good youngsters and good seniors, and that combination is... it’s fiery, just like the dragon!
The UK Championships silver medallist from last year has been impressed by the wealth of athletics talent in Wales and hopes her performances can inspire others to take part, especially young girls.
“There are so many under-17 girls coming through,” said Jones. “We have so much talent and so much progress and development in javelin in Wales. I love it. It's really good to see.
“I hope we continue to see that upward trajectory over the next couple of years and more girls getting involved. I hope some of them have seen what the seniors can do and push on to set their goals nice and high.”
Since making the transition to competing as a Welsh athlete, Jones has seen an upturn in her own performances having also changed her coach.
The former University of Georgia student has already broken the Welsh record on a number of occasions, improving Tesni Ward’s mark of 52.78m set in 2011.
Jones’ latest extension of the record, achieved in France last month, took it out to 56.19m.
That throw also smashed Jones’ own personal best of 55.36m, which she set back in 2014 when she was still competing as an English athlete.
Jones is delighted to be currently enjoying the best form of her career. On breaking her PB, she said: “It was amazing. After 11 years of just kind of waiting and waiting and waiting and finally doing it has been brilliant.
“I've changed coaches this year, which I think has made a huge difference. There's been a lot of changes, both mentally and physically.
“I've had a lot of support from my family, which I'm really happy about. And I kind of feel free. I'm in a really good place. And obviously, my eyes are set on Commonwealth Games next year. I’m so close to the qualifying standard.
“I really hope I'm joining the team in in Glasgow and then obviously, we've got the Olympics in three years’ time. That's my next couple of steps. So hopefully, with this PB this year, I can go on to further distances.”
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The consideration standard to be nominated for Welsh team at the Commonwealth Games is 56.44m – just beyond what she has already achieved this year.
Jones believes she has plenty more opportunities to gain the standard and further titles to go with her Welsh crown.
“I'm competing at a lot of bronze world continental tours this year, against girls throwing between 55 and 65 metres, and I've been really competitive, which is something that I've had as a goal this year with my coach," she added.
“So, I’ll be trying to push on to 60m, hopefully see if I can win the British Championships, go to England Athletics Championships and win there too.
“I want to finish off the year on a high, hopefully breaking my PB again, trying to get over 56m as many times as I can. I've still got about eight or nine competitions left this season, so I think I've got enough opportunities to do it.”
