Jake Heyward 'over the moon' with first Olympic selection

Jake Heyward followed up his European U18 1500m title in 2017 with the U20 title the following summer

Welsh 1500m runner Jake Heyward says he is "over the moon" to be selected for his first Olympic Games.

The former European U20 champion has overcome a longstanding Achilles injury that threatened his Tokyo hopes.

Heyward earned his place after finishing third at the Olympic trials, and is Wales' sole representative in the Team GB athletics squad.

Earlier this year he broke the 31-year-old Welsh 1500m record, running 3.33.99 in Oregon, USA.

But this season is the first the 22-year-old has raced injury-free since 2019, having "struggled badly" with his Achilles.

"It's been difficult," Heyward told BBC Sport Wales.

"I think the last race I ran healthy was EuroCross in the winter of 2019.

"From August to December [2020] I was in a boot. So I had to deal with that.

"But you've got to take accountability. What can I do in the moment to prepare in the best possible way I can?

"I just got on with it to be honest."

The Coe and Cram comparisons

Heyward has long been viewed as a future star of Welsh and British athletics, with expectations on his shoulders throughout his career.

As a 17-year-old, fresh from his European U18 title, Heyward arrived on stage at the 2016 Wales Sports Awards to collect the Young Sportsman of the Year prize - only to be asked about comparisons to Lord Sebastian Coe.

He was already ahead of Coe on the all-time U20 rankings over 1500m - and by 2018 he had run 3.39.84 in the Diamond League to move ahead of Steve Cram too.

In 2019 he left his hometown of Cardiff to train under Mark Rowland in Oregon.

His injury issues meant he only raced a handful of times, but one was the race that earned him the Welsh record and another, his most recent, secured his place at his first Olympic Games.

"As athletes you work so hard and you have goals - this was just a goal on the list," he said.

"It feels surreal but at the same time, because it was a goal I thought I could achieve, now that I've done it, it's another tick in the box, so move on and focus on the Games."

Heyward secured his spot by finishing third at the Olympic trials over the weekend.

Heyward is keen to ensure his story is not just an injury comeback one, and insists he is not going to Tokyo as a spectator.

"I'm in a really good place now. I'm back healthy, I've had some consistent training over the past three months," he said.

"I'm looking forward to the next six weeks, sharpening up and getting ready for the Games."