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Ron Jones, MBE
(ABGS 1946 – 1950)
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Ron (right) practising with Lynn Davies for the British 4×110 relay team in 1964
Ronald Jones was born in Cwmaman in August 1934. He has spent a lifetime in the world of sport and, in his
youth, was an athlete who competed internationally for Great Britain. He was one of the most talented sprinters of
his generation.
As a boy he lived in Brynhyfryd, Cwmaman and attended Glynhafod Primary School. At the age of 12, he
transferred to Aberdare Boys Grammar School.
Ron’s career in sport is long and distinguished. He competed in three Olympic games, 1960, 1964 and 1968,
captaining the British team in Mexico in 1968. He also represented Wales in four Commonwealth Games. In 1963, he
was a member of the British team that equalled the world record for the 4x100 metres relay, and a member of the
relay team that reached the Olympic Games final the following year. His team for the Tokyo 1964 event included Lynn
Davies, Peter Radford and Menzies Campbell. Ron made 35 full international match appearances for G.B.
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After retiring from athletics, Ron’s career turned to management and training in association football. He
was a fitness coach at QPR introducing techniques which were unheard of at the time but commonplace nowadays. In
the late 70s he was appointed managing director at Cardiff City to run the club with particular attention to the
financial side of the business. He was brought back in 1997 as a fitness coach to improve the running ability of
several players. In the 1980s Ron spent some time in the south of England with Portsmouth F.C. From 1982 to 1985,
he made a substantial contribution to the Sports Council for Wales. Since retiring, he has worked tirelessly for
Sports Aid Wales, who help develop and encourage youth sport in the Principality. He raised significant sums of
money for this organisation and has been involved in the distribution of £500,000 to young athletes.
Ron lives with his wife Pam in Cambridgeshire, and in December 2000, he was awarded the MBE for his services to
Sport.
In March 2008, Ron was honoured at a tribute dinner organised by past students John Cynon Davies and Ken
Griffiths. There is an account and pictures of this occasion on the reunion section of this web-site.
In October 2018, Ron was in Aberdare to open the £3m new athletics stadium named in his honour, then two years
later at the Park Plaza Hotel, Cardiff, a celebration dinner was held on his retirement from SportsAid Cymru Wales,
(SACW), which he had served since 1990.
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