Kristian Jones or Kris Jones (born 3 April 1991) is a competitor in
orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
Lillomarka
Lillomarka is an area located to the northeast of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and serves as a popular recreational area. Lillomarka is bordered by Maridalen and Nordmarka in the west, Nittedal and Gjelleråsen in the east, the suburb ...
Jones has had most success in Sprint Orienteering, winning medals in the European Championships and the Junior World Championships, and winning the Jan Kjellstrom Orienteering Festival Sprint 3 times in a row from 2016 to 2018. He also has success in the
British Orienteering Championships
The British Orienteering Championships are the highest level of competition in Orienteering in the United Kingdom, along with the Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering, JK Orienteering Festival.
1967 saw the first British Champion ...
, winning both the Middle and Sprint twice.
in 2016, Jones came 4th in all 3 disciplines he competed in (Sprint, Mixed Sprint Relay and Relay) at the World Championships in Stromstad,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, the closest he has come to a medal in the World Orienteering Championships.
In 2018, Jones received a bronze medal at the European Championships, after
Daniel Hubmann
Daniel Hubmann (born 16 April 1983 in Eschlikon, Thurgau) is a Swiss orienteering competitor, world champion in all three individual disciplines and multiple winner of the overall Orienteering World Cup. He is the brother of Martin Hubmann. ...
and
Matthias Kyburz
Matthias Kyburz (born 5 March 1990) is a Swiss orienteering competitor, junior world champion, European champion and multiple world champion. On 16 April 2020, Kyburz attained the world record in quickest time reaching 50km on a treadmill, in a t ...
(both from
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
) shared the gold medal. He also won the first leg of the Jukola relay, although his team were eventually disqualified.
In 2022, Jones was a part of the Great Britain team that came second in the Sprint Relay at the World Orienteering Championships, along with
Charlotte Ward
Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of ...
, Ralph Street and Megan Carter Davies. Jones finished the penultimate leg with a one second lead over the Swedish team, but
Tove Alexandersson
Tove Alexandersson (born 7 September 1992) is a Swedish orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 17 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and 10 gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Ch ...
won the last leg, leading Sweden to victory. Jones also placed third in the sprint discipline before being disqualified.
Athletics
In Athletics, Jones was selected to run the
10,000m
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The rac ...
at the European Cup for Great Britain in 2017, held in Minsk. He did not finish due to a calf injury. The injury also forced him to miss the World Sprint Orienteering Championships three weeks later.
In December 2018, Jones was a last minute call up for the British team at the
2018 European Cross Country Championships
The 2018 European Cross Country Championships was the 25th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was hosted in Tilburg, Netherlands.Tilburg. He exceeded expectations, coming 12th in the senior men's race and becoming the 2nd counter for Great Britain as they won the silver in the team competition.
On 17 October 2020, Jones competed in the
2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships
The 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, originally scheduled for 29 March 2020 in Gdynia, Poland, was postponed until 17 October 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On , the mass participation race was cancelled, while the elite ...
for Great Britain. The race was held in Gdynia, Poland, having been postponed due to COVID-19. Jones placed 60th in the Elite race, in a time of 1:03:05.
In 2022, Jones came fifth at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in the 40k event, and won a Bronze medal in the Team Short Trail with Jonathan Albon and Billy Cartwright.
Jones also competed in the
2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships
The 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (abbreviated WMTRC 2023) was an event which combined the World Mountain Running Championships and IAU Trail World Championships. The event was organised by the World Mountain Running Associa ...
, where he came 8th in the short trail competition and won the gold medal for the team competition in the same event along with Jonathan Albon and Thomas Roach. https://www.innsbruck-stubai2023.com/en/