A part-time sprinter who works for UEFA sprung a surprise in Glasgow after winning his heat in the 100metres.
Elliot Jones, 28, was called in as a late replacement for England after Louis Hinchcliffe pulled out of the competition last week.
The top seven sprinters were given a bye through round one, with Jones registering the third fastest time across 10 heats with a time of 10.07 seconds.
Back in March, Jones was working in the matchday operations team for Tottenham’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.
‘There’s not a footballer who could touch me on the track!’ said Jones, who comes from Wigan.
Elliot Jones crosses the line first in a time on 10.07s – and goes again in the semis on Tuesday night
‘I work part time for UEFA. I’m a local assistant at matches for the venue operations team. They send in a team of managers to do broadcast, media, hospitality and matchday operations. I work as an assistant doing jobs like accreditation, signage around the ground, bits of access stuff. This year I was at Nottingham Forest and Spurs.’
Jones scrambled to get ready to compete, having originally planned to feature solely in this weekend’s relay.
‘I was only supposed to be travelling up on Tuesday,’ he said. ‘After Louis Hinchcliffe pulled out, I got a call from the sprints manager on Thursday night asking how I would feel about running the individual.
‘I was like, “Let me think about that… yes!” I had to get the bus at 9am the next morning, quickly pack and restructure my training plan but it’s fine, we’re always ready. It was supposed to take us six hours but it took us seven hours with the traffic.
‘I’m just trying to enjoy it. I came here wanting to run sub-10. That’s my target. I’m going to use this as a platform and you’re going to see me here for the next few years. Every athlete’s dream is to go to the Olympics so touch wood I’ll be there in 2028.’
