Meet the Welsh athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

This summer's Tokyo Olympics sees 27 Welsh athletes representing Great Britain - the highest number at a Games held outside the UK.

From training in their garage to being denied access to competitions, each one has had to contend with the challenges thrown up by the coronavirus pandemic.

For 19 of the 27, this will be their first Olympics.

There is a split of 14 men to 13 women, the youngest is just 18 while the oldest is double that, at 36.

The group will be aiming to emulate the achievements of the Welsh contingent in Rio five years ago. They won a record 10 medals - four of them gold.

Here are the athletes to follow in Tokyo.

Athletics

Jake Heyward

Age: 22 | From: Cardiff | Event: 1500m

A precocious talent as a junior who has finally arrived on the senior stage.

Heyward ran faster over 1500m as a teenager than Steve Cram, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett had managed at under-20 level. The Cardiff athlete won gold medals in the event at both the European Youth Championships in 2016 and the European Junior Championships in 2017.

A move to train in America was hampered by an Achilles injury, but he returned to form and fitness in 2021 by breaking the 31-year-old Welsh record over 1500m.

He secured his spot at Tokyo by finishing third at the Olympic trials and recently ran the fastest mile ever by a Welshman.

Heyward says: "I'm not going as a spectator - I want to go there and perform."

Joe Brier

Age: 22 | From: Neath | Event: 4x400m

The Swansea Harrier has been promoted to a full member of Team GB's 4x400m relay squad having originally been a travelling reserve.

Brier, younger brother of fellow athlete Hannah, has replaced Matthew Hudson-Smith, who has withdrawn from Tokyo 2020 on medical grounds.

Brier had seemed set for the European Under-23 Championship this summer after a disappointing performance at the British Athletics Championships and Olympic trials last month until he got the call to travel as a reserve.

Brier, who is coached by Matt Elias, ran a personal best of 45.84 earlier this year.

Brier says: "Hugely grateful for this opportunity and excited for what the next few weeks will bring."

Boxing

Lauren Price

Age: 27 | From: Ystrad Mynach | Event: middleweight

Wales has never had an Olympic boxing champion before - but Lauren Price may well be the perfect person to change that.

The 27-year-old is the reigning World, Commonwealth and European Games middleweight champion and current world number one.

Raised by her grandparents from when she was just three days old, Price won kickboxing world titles as a teenager before playing football for Wales.

A switch to boxing in 2014 proved a successful one, as she finally fulfils a lifelong ambition of becoming an Olympian.

Price says: "It's been my dream since I was eight years of age. I'm over the moon. Just to say now I'm an Olympian is mad."

Cycling

Geraint Thomas

Age: 35 | From: Cardiff | Events: men's road race & time trial

What is there left to say about Geraint Thomas? Double Olympic champion, Tour de France champion, multiple world champion. Now, aged 35, off to his fourth Games.

His two Olympic golds both came on the track in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). Now Tokyo will see him attempt to find silverware on the road, after a late crash in Rio ended his hopes there.

Thomas may have endured a difficult Tour de France this summer - but just a week after it finishes he will be going for gold in the road race and then time trial. A chance for immediate redemption.

Thomas says: "It's a quick turnaround. It'll be tough but I think a lot of us will be in the same boat. But it'll be nice to go to my fourth Olympics and represent GB."

Elinor Barker

Age: 26 | From: Cardiff | Event: women's team pursuit

Elinor Barker made her name as part of Team GB's victorious women's team pursuit squad at Rio 2016.

But it is arguably at the World Championships where Barker has cemented her place as one of the world's very best track cyclists.

She has won five world titles - including three individual golds which have all come since Rio. Victory in the team pursuit is the target this summer.

Barker says: "This has been five years in the making and that extra year has felt like the longest of all the years. So I think it [a gold medal] would probably be even more special this time around."

Ethan Vernon

Age: 20 | From: Bedford (Welsh father) | Event: men's team pursuit

Twenty-year-old Ethan Vernon is a perfect example of an athlete who has benefited from the year-long delay to the Games.

Vernon only joined the senior programme at British Cycling in spring last year. He admits if the Olympic Games had gone ahead as planned that summer he would not have been involved.

But a summer of solid training was followed by a silver medal in the men's 1km time trial at November's European Track Cycling Championships - proving his Olympic pedigree - and he will now line up in the men's team pursuit in Tokyo.

Vernon says: "It's a dream. They've won it for the past three Olympics so the pressure's on for four. It'd be great to be able to do it."

Football

Sophie Ingle

Age: 29 | From: Llandough | Event: women's football

The Wales captain has won 100 caps for her country.

But Sophie Ingle may never have played once after having to take time away from the sport aged 12 when the rules no longer allowed her to play with boys.

Fortunately, when she was 14, her local club started a girls team and she has not looked back.

The 29-year-old, who can play in defence or midfield, has helped Chelsea to back-to-back Women's Super League titles, consecutive Women's League Cup trophies and their first-ever UEFA Champions League final.

She will be the first Welsh woman to play football at an Olympic Games and will wear the armband on rotation throughout the tournament as one of three captains of the Team GB squad.

Ingle says: "I love playing for Wales - I'll do everything I can for my country. But now representing Great Britain, it feels similar. I'm going to go on and be an Olympian."

Hockey

Leah Wilkinson

Age: 34 | From: Burton (Welsh mother) | Event: women's hockey

Wales hockey captain Leah Wilkinson holds the honour of being the most capped Welsh athlete in any sport, making169 appearances since her debut back in 2004.

But Wilkinson's most recent international appearances have come for Great Britain. She finally joined the full-time programme in late 2019 - and immediately helped them to Olympic qualification.

The 34-year-old is also a history teacher and has still been teaching part-time while also training for the Games. She has made the squad for her first Olympics alongside fiancee Sarah Jones.

Wilkinson says: "It's something that honestly I don't think I thought would happen. I feel exceptionally lucky to be part of the GB women's team and Team GB. It's hopefully going to be the most incredible experience."

Sarah Jones

Age: 31 | From: Cardiff | Event: women's hockey

Jones won 96 caps for Wales before joining the Great Britain programme in 2017 - just a year after the women's historic Olympic gold at Rio 2016.

Thirty-three appearances later and forward Jones has become a key part of the squad, putting in a player-of the-match performance in a 5-0 win over the United States in May.

The Cardiff player went to the same school as fellow Olympian Hannah Mills and is in the GB hockey squad alongside fiancée Leah Wilkinson.

She says: "It's just a bit mind-boggling. You think back to watching the Olympics when you were younger and all those incredible people who have represented Team GB - it's just an incredibly special thing to be a part of."

Rupert Shipperley

Age: 28 | From: Oxford (Welsh father) | Event: men's hockey

Just a few months before the Tokyo Olympics were due to take place in 2020, Rupert Shipperley was still working as a geography teacher.

But a late opportunity to join the Great Britain programme came up and he grabbed it with both hands.

The forward scored against Australia on his debut and backed that up with crucial goals when international hockey returned last spring.

Shipperley has 75 caps for Wales and now, alongside compatriot Jacob Draper, will become the first Welshman to play hockey at Olympics in more than 20 years.

He says: "I'm really excited. It's the biggest tournament. Everybody would love to win Olympic gold. It's a shame it's not going to be packed-out crowds but it is the pinnacle."

Jacob Draper

Age: 22 | From: Cwmbran | Event: men's hockey

Jacob Draper's performances for Wales at the 2019 EuroHockey Championships caught the eyes of the Great Britain hierarchy. Within a few weeks he made his debut.

He now has 16 caps to go with the 50 he has already won for Wales.

Draper is a key member of the GB defence and will now join Shipperley as the first Welsh male hockey players at a Games since Sydney 2000.

He says: "I watched GB in London [in 2012] a few times and it was an amazing experience. From then on I really wanted a piece of it."

Judo

Natalie Powell

Age: 30 | From: Builth Wells | Event: -78kg

Natalie Powell remains the only Welsh judoka to compete at an Olympic Games.

In Tokyo she will be looking to improve on the seventh place she managed at Rio 2016.

The former Commonwealth Games champion reached number one in the world back in 2017 - the first British woman in history to do so.

The 30-year-old says she has used the pandemic to get in the best shape of her life as she attempts to realise her dream of winning an Olympic medal.

She says: "There's been a lot of challenges along the way. But I do feel in a much better place physically and mentally. Maybe everything happens for a reason."

Rowing

Victoria Thornley

Age: 33 | From: St Asaph | Event: women's single scull

Tokyo 2020 will be Victoria Thornley's third Olympic Games in a third different boat.

The 33-year-old competed in the women's eight at London 2012 and then won silver in the double sculls with Katherine Grainger at Rio 2016.

She then turned to the single scull and now the former showjumper and fashion model is targeting a first ever Olympic medal by a British woman in the class.

She says: "There's a reason why I chose it - because it's hard, because it's challenging and it's asking different things of me. This five years has been purely about finding out how good I can be."

Oliver Wynne-Griffith

Age: 27 | From: Guildford (Welsh father) | Event: men's eight

Oliver Wynne-Griffith started rowing at school as a way to keep fit in the rugby off-season.

He had originally dreamed of running out for Wales at the then Millennium Stadium but, as he got older, rowing took over. He got an athletic scholarship at Yale University and since then the Olympics has been his target.

He has been part of the men's eight for three years and has helped them to win medals at World and European Championships.

He says: "It's something you dream of as a kid. Then as you get older the dream becomes a goal. Then by the end of 2019 the goal becomes an expectation. It's my first Games and that makes it unique and exciting."

Joshua Bugajski

Age: 30 | From: Stockport (Welsh mother) | Event: men's eight

Joshua Bugajski took up rowing as a Cardiff University student and now - a decade on - will make his Olympic debut.

The delay by a year was a blessing in disguise as it allowed him to recover from a shoulder injury that would have otherwise ruled him out.

The 30-year-old - who competed in the Boat Race three times while studying for a Masters in Oxford - will also line up in the men's eight. It is a boat Britain won gold in back in Rio 2016.

He says: "It's a relief it's finally going ahead. I'm very excited. Watching everyone through the highs and the lows has been enduring but we're very glad to be going now."

Tom Barras

Age: 27 | From: Staines (qualified for Wales at university) | Event: men's quadruple sculls

While others only pick up a blade for the first time at university, Tom Barras was just 11 when he started rowing.

He won a number of domestic titles before arriving in Cardiff as a student. There he opted to row for Wales before moving onto the British programme.

The 27-year-old won bronze in the single sculls at his first senior World Championships in 2017 but will line up in the men's quad in Tokyo.

He says: "It's the absolute pinnacle of any rower's career to be able to say you're representing Team GB at the Olympic Games. It's what first got me into rowing at the beginning."

Rugby Sevens

Jasmine Joyce

Age: 25 | From: St Davids | Event: women's rugby sevens

Jasmine Joyce was just 20 years old when she went to the Rio Olympics.

The speedy wing helped Team GB to fourth place in the women's rugby sevens. But straightaway she wanted more.

The now 25-year-old from Pembrokeshire is desperate to return from her second Games with a medal.

She says: "Going to an Olympic Games is always a fantastic experience but the one thing that does stick with you is the fact we came fourth. Three of us get to go out there again, hopefully get a gold medal and put things wrong to right."

Sailing

Hannah Mills

Age: 33 | From: Dinas Powys | Event: women's 470

Put simply, Hannah Mills could soon be the greatest female Olympic sailor of all time.

Granted the 33-year-old needs another gold to confirm that, but she and new 470 partner Eilidh McIntyre will be aiming for exactly that.

Mills sailed with Saskia Clark to silver in London 2012 and then gold at Rio 2016. She and McIntyre then teamed up and won the world title in 2019.

Mills says: "To potentially become the most successful female sailor would be insane. Growing up as a little girl it's something I had in my mind that I wanted to do - first to win a gold medal and then to win the most."

Chris Grube

Age: 36 | From: Chester (Welsh mother) | Event: men's 470

Chris Grube has been racing with 470 partner Luke Patience since they were juniors, winning bronze together at the Junior World Championships in 2006.

They parted ways ahead of the London Games but were reunited at late notice for Rio 2016 after Patience's original partner, Elliot Willis, was diagnosed with cancer.

Grube - who grew up sailing on Bala Lake - helped the pair to a credible fifth place finish and they have stayed together for Tokyo 2020.

Grube says: "You don't enter into this game for the stardom - it's not one of those types of sport. It's for getting out on the water and competing against your friends. It's an awesome way of life."

Swimming

Alys Thomas

Age: 30 | From: Swansea | Event: women's 200m butterfly

Success did not come overnight for Alys Thomas.

In 2014 she missed out on a Commonwealth Games medal by 0.18 seconds. Her first national title was not until 2016. Then 2018 was her breakthrough year.

She won Commonwealth gold for Wales in the women's 200m butterfly in a new personal best, Games record and one of the fastest times anywhere in the world that season. She followed that up with two European Championship medals and is now finally set to make her Olympic debut.

Thomas says: "I've been swimming Olympic trials since Beijing in 2008. I've always got to that point and that's the furthest I've reached. But I'm on that team. It's a really cool feeling."

Daniel Jervis

Age: 25 | From: Resolven, Neath | Event: men's 1500m freestyle

Daniel Jervis may only be about to make his Olympic debut now but he is a seasoned performer at the Commonwealth Games for Wales.

The 1500m freestyler won bronze at Glasgow 2014 and then silver at Gold Coast 2018.

He has also appeared at two World Championships and has won the last four British 1500m titles.

Yet in his limited time out of the pool, this humble 25-year-old still works with his dad in their painting and decorating business.

Jervis says: "I remember exactly how I felt five years ago [missing out on Rio]. I vowed to myself I was never going to feel this disappointment in sport again. I kept my promise and I'm really proud of myself."

Harriet Jones

Age: 24 | From: Cardiff | Events: women's 100m butterfly & 4x100m mixed medley relay

When Harriet Jones set a new Welsh record in the 50m butterfly in February, we should have known she was in good form.

So it was maybe no surprise that the 24-year-old took her breakthrough victory at the Olympic trials in her stride.

The Cardiff swimmer won the women's 100m butterfly to all but secure her place at a first Olympics.

At that point she had never represented Great Britain at senior level, only doing so at May's European Championships.

Jones says: "It's out of this world. It's a little proud moment. It's something not many people do but I'm trying to take it all in and have fun."

Matt Richards

Age: 18 | From: Worcester (Welsh father) | Events: men's 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay & 4x200m freestyle relay

When Matt Richards was five, he gave his parents a shock on a family holiday in Tenerife by launching himself into the hotel pool without any armbands on. His swimming lessons began as soon as they returned home.

Richards would train at his school in Worcester and was a talented junior - winning the European junior title over 100m just two years ago.

Since then it has been a rapid rise to the top. After the first lockdown (during which he trained in a cold outdoor pool at home), he moved to the elite programme at Bath University.

At April's trials, he broke Welsh senior records in both the men's 100m and 200m freestyle on his way to securing his place in Tokyo and brought back three medals from May's European Championships.

Richards says: "We're not just going to get the tracksuit. It's a case of - that's awesome, tick it off your bucket list. But now you've done it - what's next?"

Kieran Bird

Age: 21 | From: Bicester (Welsh father) | Events: men's 400m freestyle & 800m freestyle

Kieran Bird has already had a taste of the Team GB tracksuit. In 2015 he competed in the European Youth Olympic Festival. But this summer's Olympic Games will be his first experience at the very top of his sport.

The 21-year-old secured his spot with victory in the men's 400m freestyle at the Olympic trials.

Like compatriot Matt Richards, he is one of a handful of elite British swimmers who train under Jol Finck in Bath.

Bird says: "Being in a squad of very talented freestylers, we're very lucky. You just reach highs you might not be able to do if you didn't have those people around you."

Calum Jarvis

Age: 29 | From: Ystrad Rhondda | Event: men's 4x200m freestyle relay

Calum Jarvis has become a key figure in British 4x200m relay teams over the past few years. He was part of the squad that won gold at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships, as well as the 2018 European Championships.

He missed out on London 2012 and Rio 2016 but has been to two Commonwealth Games for Wales - winning 200m silver at Glasgow 2014.

Jarvis says: "It's great to be wearing the kit. I never really doubted it - I just needed the opportunity to do it. This pandemic didn't help. But I've done it now."

Taekwondo

Jade Jones

Age: 28 | From: Flint | Event: -57kg

Jade Jones is a taekwondo trailblazer.

The then teenager burst onto the scene at London 2012 with Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold. She then followed it up with gold at Rio 2016 and won the world title in 2019.

• Watch: Jade Jones is transformed into Japanese manga character head of 2020 Olympics

In short, she has been at the top of her sport for a decade - and counting.

Now her achievements could go beyond taekwondo. No British woman in any sport has ever won three consecutive Olympic golds. Until now?

Jones says: "Being a perfectionist I always want more. I know it's going to be super tough. Athletes get better and better every year. I can't even imagine how it'd feel."

Lauren Williams

Age: 22 | From: Blackwood | Event: -67kg

At the age of 13, Lauren Williams watched Jade Jones win Olympic gold at London 2012 from her family caravan.

Now, nine years later, she will compete alongside her at the Tokyo Games.

Williams won multiple kickboxing world titles before coming to taekwondo through the Fighting Chance talent search programme.

She won gold at her first two World Junior Championships and has now translated that success to senior level, winning two European titles and Grand Slam gold.

The 22-year-old has fought back from a number of injury problems to make her first Olympics this summer.

Williams says: "I always wanted to be like Jade Jones. Now I'd like to do it in my own way. I truly believe I'm amongst the best in the world."

Waiting in the wings

Swansea's James Jones was named as a travelling reserve in the sport of BMX freestyle, which makes its Olympic debut.

...and finally

There are a handful of other athletes in Team GB with Welsh connections.

Rugby sevens player Megan Jones is a Welsh speaker from Cardiff but is a full England international - while marathon swimmer Hector Pardoe lives in France, opts for England but was born in Wrexham.

The rowing team can boast more Welsh links too through Graeme Thomas (grandad), Beccy Muzerie (past residency) and travelling reserve Matthew Tarrant has, via his mother, family connections to the old mining community in Abertillery.

Meanwhile, a number of Welsh coaches are helping Britain's best athletes reach their potential in Tokyo - including British Athletics head coach and four-time Olympian Christian Malcolm - and one is helping a rugby rival. Former Welsh international Gareth Baber coaches Fiji's men's sevens team - the reigning champions who play Great Britain in the pool stage.