David Jones (1940-2023)

Olympic bronze medallist David Jones enjoyed a stellar sprint career in the early 1960s. 

The son of a farmer and a superb junior hockey player, he quickly settled on short distances and won his first AAA national title over 220 yards in 1959. 

He would dominate the distance and go on to win four titles, just the second man to do so, including three in a row from 1959-61. 

Jones went to his first and only Olympics at Rome 1960 where he competed in the 100m and 200m, narrowly missing the final in the former, but most notably in the 4x100m relay. 

He won bronze in the relay with David Segal, Nick Whitehead and Peter Radford, who took bronze in the individual 100m. 

Jones went on to win relay gold at the 1962 Commonwealth Games and European bronze later that year.

Jones, who went on to work at a local brewery after his competitive career, passed away at home in Mallorca this month.