Teenage Para-swimmer Ela Letton-Jones has secured the first Team Wales medal of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by claiming silver in the pool. The 19-year-old finished second in the women's S13 100m freestyle in a time of one minute, 4.30 seconds behind Australian Jenna Jones, who won in 1:03.89.
It was the same result as the morning session after Letton-Jones had qualified second fastest. Her success came in the first full day of competition in Glasgow for a Commonwealth Games that has 113 Welsh athletes participating in 10 different sports.
Who is Ela Letton-Jones?
Ela Letton-Jones, from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, studies criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University alongside her swimming training. She 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. After narrowly missing out on the Paris Games in 2024, the teenager was invited onto the Aquatics GB Para-swimming world-class programme.
Letton-Jones won silver in the women's 100m backstroke S12 on her World Para-swimming championships debut in 2025.
What does this mean for Wales?
Her silver medal gave Wales an early podium finish at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where 113 Welsh athletes are competing across 10 sports. It also marked the first Team Wales medal of the Games.
Key Facts:
- Ela Letton-Jones won silver in the women's S13 100m freestyle.
- She finished behind Australian Jenna Jones, who won in 1:03.89.
- Letton-Jones is 19 and comes from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd.
- She studies criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University.
- She has albinism and is targeting the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
