At the tender age of 18, local lad Dan Jones has packed his bags in search of reaching the pinnacle of his chosen sport.
Following a glorious junior swimming career, Jones was invited to become a part of the Swansea Aquatic Elite Performance Squad up which meant relocating to South West Wales to train alongside some of the country’s elite.
It has not been an easy time since he said his good-byes to his family in April, but he has come through it with faster times that have once again highlighted him as one the country’s brightest young talents.
“It was a big step up from what I have been used to and very challenging but I am enjoying it,” said Dan. “I have missed home but have spent plenty of time with friends and family this summer to make up for it!”
Dan has also revealed the other sacrifices he has to make daily in order to become a champion.
He now swims nine sessions a week lasting a minimum of two hours each and covering on average of 15kms a day (approximately 10 miles). Between those sessions he also has three gym sessions with his personal trainer.
He admits his new training plan is “extremely demanding” and has had to juggle the increased pool time with coping with the daily chores of cooking, cleaning and washing as all teenagers are faced with when living away from home for the first time.
“It has been tough and at times exhausting but I am feeling the hard work over the last three months is paying off.”
He recorded five personal bests in July at the Welsh National Championships in Swansea on his way to picking up two gold medals.
He then had to leave the Welsh Nationals mid way through as he was needed at the GB National Championships in Sheffield to swim for Swansea Aquatics.
For the first time he was a part of the 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay teams that won silver medals in both events with Jones swimming four more personal best times. He now covers the 200m in 1min51sec and the 100m in 50.9 seconds.
He will return to Swansea next month to step up his training and also begin an apprenticeship in High Performance Sport.
But what are his aspirations now after finding his feet in Swansea?
“I am just training hard to try and improve my times,” he said. “My personal trainer is looking to bulk up my muscle this season so there will be more time in the gym, and my coach is tweaking my technique and building my stamina.”
His long term goals are to qualify for the Wales team competing in the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and, hopefully, Team GB for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
He has some way to go yet to make the times expected, but given the way he has adapted to his new challenge so far, the smart money would be on saying he can achieve it.
NOTE: Dan would like to say a very big thank you to Sport Aid Wales for their help and to two Welshpool businesses - Best Kebab Welshpool and Rikki Lloyd - for their sponsorship.