Senior Aircraftman Alexander Jones joined the RAF in March 2018 and started Phase Two at RAF Cosford in early June and took part in the Inter-Service Athletics Championships at Aldershot where he came 4th in the 800m final and joined the 4x400m team for a Second place to the Army.
Alex was invited to be part of the Inter-Service U23 Cross Country team for the February 2019 championships. A competitive race Alex achieved 8th position, a position he was happy with considering the strong, experienced field of Navy, Army and RAF runners.
When Alex was posted to RAF Brize Norton, he was able to fully commit to a training schedule and in March, he won the RAF Athletics Association (AA) Presidents Cup. A month later he won the RAF AA Championships in a seasons best time of 1m59.2s; as a result, Alex was invited to the AIRCOM, European Air Command AA Championships, where the team travelled to Bremen, Germany to compete against France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and the US.
“The 800m race played to my strengths, with no one wanting to lead. The first lap was slow, hitting the bell in 70s; with 300m to go I kicked away and gained a sizeable lead which was met with no response and I kept the lead into the finish, taking the gold medal.”
Senior Aircraftman Alex Jones
Royal Air Force Brize Norton
This was one of three gold medals won by UK Armed Forces (UKAF) on the day, Alex also joined the 4x400m for a silver medal, losing out to a fantastic US relay team. The overall winner was Poland on points, with GB 7 points behind; the closest the team had ever been to winning.
This year, Alex also competed at the Inter-Service Athletics Championships 2019 in the 800m and 4x400m relay. Alex’s 2019 season winning streak came to an end at the Inter Service 800m when he came 2nd to a strong Army athlete. Unfortunately, Alex was edged out by 0.1s and settled for a silver medal in 1m59.3s, just missing out on a season best.
Having had an accomplished military track season, Alex was invited to compete for the UKAF at the Manchester International Games against teams for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and GB juniors.
“I turned down the place in lieu of a rest from competing and sorting out a plan for a successful 2019 cross country season, I am now focussed on my continuation training in preparation for next season. I am also investigating options to establish an area dedicated to supporting track and field training at RAF Brize Norton to support my passion for athletics as well as that of my fellow athletes based here.”
Senior Aircraftman Alex Jones
Royal Air Force Brize Norton
