Para-swimmer Letton-Jones wins first Wales medal

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.

Letton-Jones was able to cope with the pressure of being Wales' first medal hope.

"I knew that coming in so I am just glad I was able to deliver and hopefully give Team Wales some momentum to win more medals," said Letton-Jones.

"I enjoyed it and I am glad that I did and it proves I swim a lot better when I am happy.

"I was speechless because I had never heard a crowd as noisy as that before. It carried me, gave me a lot more adrenaline and probably made me swim faster.

"My Mum, Dad and Nanny were here and I am grateful for their support because I could not have won silver without them."

• Wales at the Commonwealth Games

Letton-Jones, from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, 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.

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.