Welsh Olympic Hero Carlin Rings The Bell

4 Sep 2016 | Cricket
One of Wales\' Olympic heroes from Rio 2016, Jazz Carlin, was the guest of honour at The SSE SWALEC as England took on Pakistan.

Jazz rang the bell to signal five minutes before the commencement of play, after she claimed two silver medals in the 400 metres and 800 metres in Rio this summer.

It was an honour the swimming star never expected, but she thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Carlin was one of dozens of Team GB Olympians to surpass expectations and return with a medal from Brazil, during a memorable summer of sport, particularly for Welsh athletes and teams. Her day at The SSE SWALEC represented a rare opportunity to bask in her recent success, before the hard yards of training begin again.

She said: “It’s been a whirlwind the past few weeks since being in Rio and then coming home. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it because we spend so many hours of training, so many weeks and months, it’s great to come out with some medals and celebrate it a little bit.

“This year has been incredible to be part of Team GB and obviously the Welsh side of things too. The commonwealth games are coming up so that’s exciting too, but I’ve got a few weeks now to relax and enjoy myself but then come the end of September I’ll be back to training and back to hard work. It’s all about enjoying and appreciating this time."

Jazz admitted she hadn't known about the long tradition lf ringing the bell before international cricket matches, but said the experience would live long in her memory.

She added: “It was a really good experience. I haven’t been here before to watch it live but I’ve seen a lot on TV. I was incredible to be here and experience the atmosphere, it’s been a really exciting day.

“I filmed Question Of Sport the other day and I was asking Phil Tufnell about ringing the bell. He told me to give it a good ring."

Everyone at Glamorgan Cricket and The SSE SWALEC would like to congratulate Jazz on her incredible acheivements in the pool this summer and wish her all the best while representing Wales in the Commonwealth Games in 2018.