FOLLOWING a summer of triumphs for Welsh sports people, sports fans in Pembrokeshire are being encouraged to follow the flames of their heroes through a new online archive that celebrates the triumphs of Welsh sporting heroes old and new. People’s Collection Wales – an online archive celebrating the history of Wales – is calling on sports fans across the country to log on to its ‘Following the Flame’ project to watch and read the trials and tribulations of some of Wales’s most prominent sports stars.

Rhythmic gymnast Frankie Jones and athlete Aled Sion Davies are the most recent sporting heroes to have their exploits preserved online as part of the project. Discus and shot putter Aled Sion Davies and gymnast Frankie Jones became household names this summer following their sporting successes at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow respectively.

The gold medallists, both 23, have shared their stories for Following the Flame, which celebrates the achievements of Welsh stars from the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. Their stories, along with 45 others from the Following the Flame project that have already been uploaded to People’s Collection Wales, have joined hundreds of items from as far back as the early twentieth century.

In their own words, sports people, coaches and administrators and their families have shared stories that highlight the very personal highs and lows of a career competing in the limelight. Stars who have already shared their stories online include household names like Cardiff-born wheelchair racer Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson who over her career won a total of 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, and held over 30 world records; and long jumper Lynn ‘the Leap’ Davies from Nantymoel in Bridgend who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Phil Cope, who is the project coordinator for Following the Flame, said: “It’s absolutely essential that we continue to record and preserve the stories of our champions as part of Following the Flame so that we can inspire a new generation of competitors and coaches. “I am so pleased to be able to unveil Aled and Frankie as our latest contributors and I’d like to thank all of the people who have shared their very personal stories with the online collection.”

Rheinallt Ffoster-Jones of People’s Collection Wales said: “The Welsh public has a strong appetite for sport and having the Following the Flame collection preserved on People’s Collection Wales has made the website even richer. I’d like to encourage others with memories relating to Welsh sporting greats to share their stories, photos and videos with us.” People’s Collection Wales brings together the national collections of the three partner organisations (National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Royal Commission of Ancient and Historical Monuments), and also items from local and regional museums, archives and libraries, and community groups and individuals.