Kieran Jones: The amazing teenage athlete getting back on the journey to the top

After his back garden routines gave him at least some kind of outlet, Kieran was eventually able to return to the gym three months ago.

His strength and conditioning coach is Ray Williams, the renowned weightlifting guru and Welsh national coach who moulds champions such as Gareth Evans at the famous gym in Holyhead.

Nathan Stephens and Anthony Hughes are Kieran’s athletics coaches based in Cardiff – travel has been another lockdown obstacle – while his inspiration is taken from Welsh Paralympic superstar Aled Davies.

There were pictures of the Rio and London Paralympic champion on the wall of the clinic when Kieran was in his early days as a wheelchair user.

“I was just struck by how great he looked in what he was doing,” says Kieran. “I take a lot of inspiration from Aled. 

“He’s a proper celebrity but when I met him for the first time he was fantastic with me.”

His own journey into disability sport began when Kieran was 13 years old and life began to change.

His condition - hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) – is a rare, inherited neurological disorder that produces progressive weakness in the hip and leg muscles. It runs through certain members of his family, meaning his younger brother Ryan is also in a chair as is their father.

“Around 60 per cent of my family have it on my dad’s side,” says Kieran. “My younger brother was in a chair from birth, but I played football, and rugby when I was small.

“Then, I started getting pains in my legs and I wasn’t as fast as I was before. I was slower than the others and didn’t feel I could really join in.

“I was about 10 when I started wheelchair basketball. I didn’t need the chair all the time then, so I used to walk into the sessions, jump in the chair, and then jump back out afterwards.

“I didn’t like it, though, and so I stopped. I was only doing it because my dad and brother were playing.”

Three years later, though, Kieran’s time in the chair increased and he returned to wheelchair basketball with a renewed focus. Soon, his talent was obvious and within a couple of years he was captain of the Wales U15 side.

He still plays for leading club side North Wales Knights, but combining a dual sports career is tough going when you’re a 19-year-old in a wheelchair during a global pandemic.

There is, though, another wheelchair basketball aim he has set his sights on and one which he believes he can combine with his progress as an athlete.

Next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will feature wheelchair basketball for the first time, showcasing the 3 v 3 format - and Kieran intends to be there with Wales.

“I like the team spirit of a team, people pick you up when something goes wrong.

“The goal is to get in the squad for Birmingham. The training schedule will be tough to fit in with athletics, but I like going the extra mile to prove people wrong.”

From 12 months ago, when he felt as if his world was closing in on him as Covid took its grip, suddenly there are possibilities to be explored – dreams to be chased and challenges to overcome.

“I’m 19 now but as I’ve grown up I’ve realised that being in a wheelchair isn’t as bad as it might seem.

“My mates say, ‘wow that would be just the worse thing if it happened to me’, but because of the support I have from my family, who cares?

“I’m no different to them. If someone said, would you take the chair away and walk again now, I’d say no. The people I’ve met and the opportunities I have had have been amazing.

“I don’t want to change that.”