Beverley Jones (born 17 October 1974) is a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

competing in category F37 throwing events. Jones won a bronze medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

as an EAD in the 100m sprint. Jones has qualified for four

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

from 2000 to 2012 finishing fourth twice, in the sprint in 2000 at Sydney and in the shot put at Athens in 2004.

History

Jones was born in

Queensferry, Flintshire Queensferry ( cy, Fferi Buddug / Fferi Isaf) is a town, community and electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales, lying on the River Dee near the border. The community includes the village of Sandycroft. It is between Connah's Quay, Shotton and Saltn ...

in north

in 1974. Jones, who has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

, first began playing representative sports when she played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for Wales, and was in the team that beat England at Lords in 1996. She was introduced to athletics at the Wrexham Sports Club for the Disabled in 1997 and began entering sprinting events in her 1998. In 2000, she was selected for the Great Britain team at the

, competing in the T38 sprint. She finished 4th in the 100m and 8th in the 200m. In 2004 Jones was reselected for the Great Britain Paralympic team for the Summer games in Athens, this time qualifying as F38 for the combined F37/38

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

, finishing just outside the medals in fourth place. She was reclassified to the higher disability grade of F37 after the competition. In the 2005 CP World Championships in Connecticut, USA she took gold in the shot put, 100m and 200m sprints. At the 2006 IPC World Athletics Championships in Assen, Netherlands, she set a F37 shot put world record of 10.57m. Jones was still combining her shot put with sprinting when she was chosen to represent

Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Games The squad to represent Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Games was announced by the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales (CGCW) on 22 February 2006. It consisted of 143 athletes (63 Women and 80 men) competing across 14 sports; 85 fewer than the squad ...

. Since the Manchester Games in 2002, the Commonwealth Games had introduced a limited number of events for

elite athletes with a disability Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

. The only T37 event at the Games was women's sprinting, for which Jones qualified, winning the bronze medal in the final. As of the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, Jones began concentrating on throwing events, mainly discus and shot put. She qualified for both events in China, finishing 5th in the T37 Shot Put and 7th in the T37 discus with a European record throw of 27.27m. Her 5th place in shot put saw Jones throwing her personal best of 10.35m. In 2011 Jones represented Great Britain in both the Shot and discus at the IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand. She threw a European record in the discus of 30.62m, but was unable to beat Na Mi of China, and finished in second place, taking silver. 2012 saw Jones qualify for Great Britain at her fourth Paralympic Games, on this occasion in the F37 shot put and the F37 discus at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In her first event, the shot put, she threw 9.85m to end in seventh place. Later in the Games, on 6 September at the

London Olympic Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...

, she recorded a distance of 30.99m in the discus which gave Jones a bronze medal, her first Paralympic podium finish. Jones qualified for the 2016 Paralympic Games in F37 discus and placed 5th with a throw of 28.53m.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Beverley Living people 1974 births Track and field athletes with disabilities Welsh female shot putters British female discus throwers British female shot putters Welsh female sprinters People from Queensferry, Flintshire Sportspeople from Flintshire Paralympic athletes for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen with disabilities Welsh female discus throwers Welsh Paralympic competitors Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games