From curiosity to the Commonwealth Games for MK’s javelin star Jones

Milton Keynes athletics ace Ayesha Jones picked up a javelin out of curiosity at school and is now one of the country’s leading talents targeting Commonwealth Youth Games glory.

A talented young athlete, Jones immediately broke the school record but her hard work since has been meticulously planned and she travels to Trinidad and Tobago as the number one ranked javelin thrower in the Commonwealth.

That accolade would put most athletes under pressure but Jones, who will represent Team England as part of a team competing across seven events, is excited by the occasion.

“I am really looking forward to throwing with different javelin throwers from around the world, that is going to be really nice,” she said.

“It is going to be a nice opportunity to be with a team and compete in a different country with new experiences.

“Even just training with a different coach as well is cool, because they have different styles of coaching, and they see different parts of the throw that they can break down and we can improve on.”

Jones will follow in the footsteps of legends such as Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill and Dina Asher-Smith, the fastest British woman in history.

The Youth Games have been running since 2000, with Commonwealth athletes aged 14-18 from across the world pitting themselves against each other in seven sports, including athletics, swimming, and cycling.

Jones’ path is rather unique, originally recommended to go to an athletics club by her PE teacher who spotted her talent before eventually discovering her passion for javelin.

“One afternoon at school I had a free hour, so I decided to go and throw a javelin and I broke the school record, so that went pretty well for me,” added Jones.

“Throughout the multi-stage events before that, I always knew I was good at throwing, so I did shoot put and hammer, but then with the javelin, it felt quite good straight away which was nice.

“I was doing sprinting too but, after Covid, I dropped it and focused on javelin because that felt truer to myself to be honest.

“I liked all the technical stuff; it is really interesting, and I really like looking into it in a different way.”

Jones mentions how Greg Rutherford, another field athlete from Milton Keynes, has inspired her but her real hero is her mum, who will be making the trip to the Caribbean to support her.

She continued: “Greg Rutherford is also from Milton Keynes and there are a lot of pictures of him and his medals so that is quite inspiring to see.

“My mum drives me around to every competition so I would have to thank her a lot for that.

“I am really grateful for her help, not only does she drive me, but she also pays for a lot of stuff, my equipment can be quite expensive, so I am really, really thankful to her.

“She is flying out to join me, which will be really nice too, I think it will be really special having her there, especially as all the hard work has paid off.”

Follow Team England’s performances at Trinbago 2023 at www.teamengland.org #BringItHome