Eighteen statues of Welsh sportsmen... but no women

Gone are the days when statues were reserved for politicians or royalty.

Now they are more commonly commissioned to celebrate those who have made their name in the world of sport.

Steve Jones MBE became the latest athlete to be honoured in his hometown for his achievements.

The former world marathon record holder is the 18th sportsman to be immortalised in stone, bronze or steel, in Wales.

But while celebrating Jones' achievements may be justified, it has sparked discussions about the lack of sportswomen to be honoured in the same way.

'Time has come'

This is not the first time the lack of statues of influential women has been raised.

Back in 2015, author Dr Jasmine Donahaye called for a national debate on why women are not represented as widely as men.

There are statues of Queen Victoria in Wrexham and Boudicca in Cardiff City Hall but, many argue, not enough of women who have contributed to Welsh culture.

Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, Phil Davies, said Jones is the latest in a line of "stand-out world class performers and great men" to be honoured.

But he added: "The time has come for some of the great Welsh sportswomen to be recognised in a similar fashion.

"It was great to see Steve Jones unveil his statue and so many inspirational Welsh sportsmen honoured in this way.

"But now is the time to start the conversation about adding some of our outstanding women to the list.

"The explosion in women's sport this century means we have many more world and Olympic champions to consider from many different sports.

"Surely the time has come to honour the likes of Kirsty Wade, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Nicole Cooke and Jayne Ludlow from the past.

"That's before we get on to the more modern day greats such as Jade Jones, Lauren Price, Elinor Barker, Hannah Mills, Emma Finucane and Jess Fishlock."

Where are the sporting statues in Wales?

The first of the 18 Welsh sportsmen celebrated was Sir Gareth Edwards, with a bronze statue in the heart of St David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff in 1982.

Edwards was the first of many rugby players to be given the honour.

A statue of Ray Gravell stands outside Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, while Edwards' Barbarians team-mate from the famous 1973 win against New Zealand, Phil Bennett, is honoured in his home town of Felinfoel.

Another former Wales and British & Irish Lions star Ken Jones, who also won an Olympic silver medal in the 4x100m relay, is cast is bronze in Blaenavon.

And it is not just rugby union players, given Brynmawr similarly honoured the former rugby league player and coach Roy Francis in 2023 before legends Gus Risman, Sir Billy Boston and Clive Sullivan stood proudly as part of the Cardiff Codebreakers statue in Cardiff Bay.

Boston also has statues outside Wembley Stadium and in Wigan.

Five Welsh boxers have been honoured with statues, three of which - Eddie Thomas, Howard Winstone and Johnny Owen - can be found in Merthyr Tydfil.

Former British heavyweight champion, Dave Pearce, stands on the banks of the River Usk in Newport, while Jim Driscoll's statue has stood on Cardiff's Custom House Street since 1997.

Swansea City and Cardiff City each have a former great honoured outside their stadiums.

Former Swans and Wales forward Ivor Allchurch, who has 50 more goals for the club than any other player, and the Bluebirds' FA Cup winning captain Fred Keenor stands holding the trophy.

Olympic great Paulo Radmilovic won four gold medals in the pool between 1908 and 1920, stands inside the Swansea Leisure Centre.

And Steve Jones becomes the latest Welsh athlete to be honoured with a statue, following 18th Century runner Guto Nyth Bran who inspired the annual Nos Galan race.