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A talented young athlete from Pontllanfraith has won two gold medals on the world stage after a stunning performance at the World Youth Games in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Jayden Jones, 12, produced a remarkable display at the prestigious international event over the weekend, continuing an outstanding run of form.
The Islwyn High School pupil claimed double gold at the Welsh National Indoor Athletics Championships in January, having won three Welsh Athletics titles in February last year.
Those performances saw Jayden rise to number one in the UK rankings for his age group in both the long jump and sprint hurdles, despite competing as a first-year athlete in the under-14 category.
The World Youth Games is the world’s largest annual youth athletics competition, attracting more than 3,000 young athletes from 40 nations.
Jayden’s first gold medal came in the sprint hurdles after progressing through both the heats and final against a strong international field.
He returned on the final day of competition to contest the long jump alongside 60 athletes from around the world. Producing a series of outstanding jumps, Jayden secured a second gold medal to complete a remarkable double.
The success comes just months after he broke the Welsh long jump record for his age group in Cardiff, where he also handled the pressure to claim another gold medal.
Jayden is following in the footsteps of his father, Kris Jones, who represented Great Britain as a junior sprint hurdler.
Away from athletics, Jayden is also a talented rugby player for Oakdale RFC and has represented the Islwyn Schools District over the past year.
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