TALENTED young athletes in Ceredigion are being let down by the county’s lack of a running track, it was claimed this week.

Despite the post-Olympics euphoria sparked by Team GB’s record success in Rio, local athletics clubs say they remain starved of decent facilities.

And Aberaeron distance runner Andres Jones, who competed in the 10,000m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, believes Ceredigion council chiefs missed a golden opportunity to install an athletics track at Ysgol Bro Teifi – Llandysul’s new ‘super-school’ - which opens next week.

“If it’s a ‘super-school’ then I would imagine that in this day and age it should have a running track,” said Jones, now a driving instructor in his home town. “I’m afraid I find it really pathetic that we still don’t have an athletics track here in Ceredigion.”

His views are shared by renowned Aberystwyth AC running legend Dic Evans who trains athletes from Machynlleth, Llanidloes and Lampeter.

“When these fantastic new schools are being built surely that’s the time to install the type of facilities we currently lack?” he said.

“We seem to be a county which makes loads of promises that take a long time arriving.”

And Steven Holmes, secretary of the Lampeter-based Sarn Helen club, claimed such a facility would help foster healthier lifestyles in children and build links between local schools while creating a “really valuable” service.

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