Young Ambassador, Rhys Jones, makes Paralympic Games debut

Tomorrow, 18 year old Rhys Jones will be gearing up to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, in the T37 200m sprint at Stratford's famous Olympic Stadium.

Rhys, who is from the Welsh Rhondda Cynon-Taff valleys, will be making his Paralympics debut after years of hard grafting and determination, which has led to him being ranked ninth in the world over 200m.

As well as being a successful athlete, Rhys is a huge asset to his local community as he has worked as a Young Ambassador, a programme run by the Youth Sport Trust and funded by Sport Wales in Wales, for over two years. Rhys has encouraged young people in the community to participate in physical activity through sharing his personal experiences with them and worked hard to raise the profile of disability sport and the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Waiting patiently at the Athletes Village in the Olympic Park, Rhys is preparing for the biggest sporting moment of his life and one person who is helping him keep focused is his mum Debbie.

"Rhys is very calm and relaxed at the moment, but that could all change! The fact that he has been selected is a massive achievement, as he's only been competing for three years and in that time, has just got better and better.

"He's really using this experience to get a feel for being part of a major sporting event and will take this with him, so he can reach that podium finish in Rio in 2016.

"It's been a hectic year with Rhys going abroad a few times to compete, I haven't really had the chance to think about, but it's all very real now and feels like a dream. I'm nervous for him as I want the best for him and when I see him coming out onto that track, it will definitely hit me."

Rhys hits the tracks on Friday 31 August in the T37 200m and Saturday 8th September in the T37 100m in his quest to become a Paralympic sprint champion.