Holly Jones should have been part of the Wales gymnastics squad defending their title on home turf in October when the Northern European Championships was due to be staged in Cardiff. The coronavirus pandemic put paid to that, but a re-scheduled event next year, plus the 2022 Commonwealth Games means her return to training provides plenty to aim for, as she tells Carl Field.
Swansea’s Holly Jones has already enjoyed plenty of medal success in her career to date – but being on the podium at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in two years’ time would top the lot.
That is certainly the aim for the 19-year-old women’s artistic gymnast, who only narrowly missed out on what would have been a stunning bronze medal on vault at the last Games on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018, finishing fourth.
But Holly, who hails from Morriston and is based out of Swansea Gymnastics Centre, is determined to go one better – at the very least – next time.
“I really want a medal there [in Birmingham] and plus it’s a home Games as well,” she said.
“I only just missed out on a medal in 2018, but even so it was still up there as one of my best experiences because not many get to say that they went to Australia to compete at the Commonwealth Games.”
Success in Birmingham would also cap a remarkable rise for the former Morriston Comprehensive School pupil who, back in October 2016, brought home three gold medals from the Junior Commonwealth Championships in Namibia, where she took floor and vault honours as well as enjoying team glory.
Less than six months later, in March 2017, she would go on to add a silver medal on vault at her first senior British Championships and then, boosted by her selection for the Gold Coast squad, returned to Liverpool the following year to be crowned British vault champion.
“I was really proud of myself for that one, because I didn’t have a very good competition the day before,” she continued.
“It was just after the team got announced for Australia as well and I fell a couple of times on the first day so I was a bit gutted with how that went – so on the second day I wanted to redeem myself.”
She certainly did that – and struck gold – finishing ahead of Olympic and World Championship medallist Amy Tinkler.
Then, after what was almost a sensational finish in Australia – where Holly was also part of the Welsh women’s artistic line-up that just missed out on a medal in the team all-around event – she suffered a knee injury towards the end of 2018.
But she would recover from that injury setback, winning on vault at the Welsh Championships in Cardiff in February last year and then, last September, took silver on vault at the Northern European Championships in Iceland.
It was there she also helped Wales to team all-around gold alongside Mia Evans, Jea Maracha, Poppy Stickler and Emily Thomas.
This year’s Northern European Championships were originally scheduled to be staged in Cardiff in October, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed a glorious homecoming for Wales’ gymnasts – who bagged 10 gold, four silver and three bronze medals overall at last year’s event in Iceland.
The event, which began in 2001, will still take place in Cardiff in 2021 with dates TBC. Only once previously, in Cardiff in 2009, have the Northern Europeans been held in Wales.
With training now back underway, Holly Jones was one of seven elite performers given the go-ahead to return at the beginning of last month after four months of lockdown.
The Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff may be familiar surroundings, but the new Covid training protocols are most certainly not. Despite that, Holly is just glad to be back.
“It’s been good, I was just excited to get back,” she said.
“It was a long time off and I think, for everyone, four months just went on and on and on!
“We obviously have to keep our distance from everyone when we’re training, which has been hard, and coaches aren’t allowed to support us or help us with anything like they normally would.
“We also have to clean up after ourselves, like if we’ve used a mat or anything, we have to clean it down and wash our hands as well after we’ve been on pieces [of apparatus].”
Holly credits her coach at Swansea, Natalie Lucitt-Jenkins – who herself went to the 1998 Commonwealth Games – as being the biggest influence on her career, while last year also began her own coaching journey.
She said: “I would say Natalie has been because I’ve been with her since I was six or seven years old, so I’ve been with her ever since I started in elite squads really and we’ve been through everything together.
“I already coach; I’ve got my own little group of six or seven-year-olds and I coach them twice a week. I only started coaching last year, so it’s still quite new, but I love it!”
Alongside her elite training and coaching the youngsters down at her local gymnastics club, Holly is also one year into a three-year Sport and Exercise Science degree course at Swansea University.
Finally home from Australia! 🇦🇺 It has truly been the best experience of my life and one that I’ll never forget! Just like to say a massive thankyou to everyone who has supported me on this journey I wouldn’t have got there without you! ❤️🏴 #gc2018 @TeamWales pic.twitter.com/rGDfzolhib
— Holly Jones (@hollysjoness) April 17, 2018
“I do try to see my friends and my family as often as I can,” added Holly.
“It’s good to have a balance because I think you’d go a bit insane if you just thought about gym all the time!”
It all keeps her busy and 2022 – the year she will also turn 21 – could certainly prove to be a truly memorable one for Holly, on and off the mat.