Wales' Commonwealth Games Chef De Mission Gethin Jones Casts Eye Over Nation’s Exciting Athletics Talent In Cardiff

Commonwealth Games chef de mission Gethin Jones is immersing himself in the sports he will be representing at next summer’s games in Glasgow.

Best known as the presenter of BBC’s Morning Live programme, Jones already has a varied sporting background.

The former rugby player was Team Wales attaché at the 2018 Gold Coast Games. The experience inspired him to return to university and complete a masters in sports directorship.

Having recently been appointed to the chef de mission post, Jones spent last weekend at the 107th Welsh Senior, Under-17 and Para Track and Field Championships in his home city of Cardiff. 

The event also incorporated the Great Britain team trials for the European Under-23 Championships in Norway later this summer.

As well as enjoying the action at the International Sports Campus, Jones was keen to forge relationships and pick the brains of Welsh Athletics officials, athletes, coaches and all those associated with the sport.

The first thing that strikes you about Jones when you talk to him about sport is his sheer enthusiasm for the subject.

Before reluctantly dashing off on Sunday afternoon to catch his train back to Manchester where he presents Morning Live, Jones said: “I’ve absolutely loved it! 

“One of my best friends, his little girl, was running the under-17s 1500m yesterday and she won!

“He was remarkably calm, but in the fourth lap, I absolutely lost it! I forgot myself in emotion. I was like ‘I'm so sorry. I'm just so excited’! Sport does that to you, doesn't it?”

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It’s encouraging to hear the man appointed to help “inspire and lead” the Welsh team in Glasgow speaking with such passion.

As chef de mission he will be the figurehead of Team Wales, leading and motivating athletes and support staff, representing Wales at official functions, and acting as the spokesperson for the team in the lead-up to and during the games. 

His responsibilities will include fostering a positive team culture, building relationships with the athletes, sports and wider Glasgow 2026 Organising Committee.

Jones said one of the highlights of the weekend was talking to the athletes themselves, including shot putter Adele Nicoll, who also has Winter Olympic ambitions and visually impaired sprinter James Ledger. Both have competed at previous Commonwealths.

Jones said: “Just meeting a lot of the athletes. Do you know, what gets me is the stories, some amazing stories. 

“You’ve got Adele Nicoll, a shot putter, who's a bobsledder as well! I’ve met James Ledger – he’s running the 100m and his guide runner is Scottish and runs 400 meters.

“And then you've got - oh my goodness - some of the other sprinters, you’ve got Jeremiah and his brother racing each other.”

The Jeremiah in question is Azu, the British, European and World indoor 60m champion and Paris Olympic medallist, who won the Welsh 200m title on Sunday, while younger brother Alex claimed silver.

Jones adds: “There are so many other little stories that I think we need to probably get out a bit more, because if you get interested in the human you get interested in the race don’t you?”

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As for the athletics itself, Jones said: “There’s a real variety in track and field. It's an incredible spectacle because there's so much going on. 

“It's like the gun’s going off every few seconds and another event is starting. And seeing the very best of Welsh athletes perform, it's been a real treat.

“With the under-23 trials as well, the best of Wales get to compete with the best of Britain, really, at the same time.

“Everyone’s got their own journeys. They're looking for PBs. They're looking for qualification times, there's a lot of pressure on the athletes, and you know, that's good practice to deliver on the biggest stage when they need to, isn't it?”
 
Despite his own sporting background playing rugby in Cardiff and then at university for Manchester Met, the former pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, where his mother is a music teacher, admitted he never graced the athletics track at Leckwith when he was growing up in the city.

“I used to enjoy cross country at school,” he recalls. “I got quite into that as a kid, and kind of loved it. 

“But I had a music background, and rugby maybe took over a little bit. But, I was never very good. I just loved it, I think. And I'm very slow twitch, very, very slow twitch.” 

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Jones’ admitted lack of personal track and field prowess meant his weekend mission was all the more valuable. 

And it’s something he plans to carry out for all the sports that will make up Team Wales in Glasgow.

Jones said he considered the trip to Cardiff as his first official duty as chef de mission in the lead up to the games.

“It's making sure, and wanting to be, at all the different sports events there are in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games,” he says.

“It's key, isn't it? From a Team Wales point of view, the relationship with performance directors and the various teams leading into the games next year is huge. 

“Because it's quite unique, isn't it, for 10 sports to come together and compete under the same flag? It doesn't always happen. 

“You've got Welsh athletics very much this weekend, and then when you add that to boxing and bowls and everything else. 

“Bringing those teams together and inspiring each other on to medals and personal bests on the day is the key. So, it's been great from that point of view.” 

Last weekend was just the start of what is sure to be a busy 12 months for Wales’ chef de mission in the run up to next year’s games.