Para-swimmer Ela Letton Jones kicked off Team Wales’ medal winning weekend with a silver medal in the S13 100m freestyle.

Letton-Jones came into the competition in sizzling form, having set three new Welsh records during a fantastic performance at this year’s Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.

That form continued as she secured third place in the S13 100m Freestyle heats, before an amazing performance to claim Silver – Team Wales’ first medal of the summer – in the final with a personal best and Welsh record time of 01:04:30.

“I knew that coming in so I am just glad I was able to deliver and hopefully give Team Wales some momentum to win more medals,” said Letton-Jones.

“I enjoyed it and I am glad that I did and it proves I swim a lot better when I am happy.

“I was speechless because I had never heard a crowd as noisy as that before. It carried me, gave me a lot more adrenaline and probably made me swim faster.

“My Mum, Dad and Nanny were here and I am grateful for their support because I could not have won silver without them.”

“I was calm just before it, and then literally five minutes before it suddenly dawned on me that it was happening,” said her mother Jo.

“I just went to pieces. We were making so much noise, it was quite embarrassing, really.

“We lost control and we were just swimming with her. It was brilliant!

“This morning we woke up and it was just like, ‘wow, that’s just happened’. All the messages, everyone’s support has just been phenomenal.”

Letton-Jones will race once more in the S13 50m freestyle and dad Iolo is more relaxed now Ela has won a medal.

“There’s no pressure, really,” he said. “It’s only 50 metres, so just swim as fast as you can.”

“I’m just going to enjoy now,” added mum Jo. “Whatever happens, she’s done so amazingly, anything else would be a bonus.”

Letton-Jones, from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, has albinism, a congenital condition that severely affects her sight, so she has to count her strokes to know when she is approaching the wall of the swimming pool.

That has not stopped Letton-Jones from following her dream to reach the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

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