Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean. On the first Saturday of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Welsh Rhythmic Gymnast Frankie Jones firmly cemented her name in Welsh and international sporting history.
Taking a total of three Silver and a much awaited Gold medal during her last ever competition, to add to the two Silvers already gained during the two previous days, the Rhythmic Gymnast became talk of the Games, while also taking the crown of Wales� most successful female athlete.
Her story has been reported by national media as a fairy-tale, but the road to this success was by no means plain sailing. Our Physio, Sian Knott recalls the journey that Sport Wales supported Frankie on, allowing her to end her career on this all-time high.
Post London 2012 Frankie Jones was undecided about whether to continue for another two years up to Glasgow 2014. She had competed on the biggest stage she could, a career high but it had come at a cost.
Frankie�s body was in absolute pieces, she had been pushing through the pain barrier to get through the Olympics, after competing she knew that she needed to have hip surgery and was seriously considering retiring.
I can recall a meeting we had very early on; she came to Sport Wales to look around at the training facility and the services we offered. We sat and discussed the how we could work with her to provide her with the greatest opportunity of getting to Glasgow.
We all desperately wanted Frankie to make it, believing she could emulate or even better the success that she had seen in Delhi. We knew that Frankie had the passion and pride still burning inside her and if we could create the right environment and support structure she had every chance of standing on the podium at the Games.
A hip operation offered hope of making this a reality, but it would take much more to get her back to the level she had been performing at. Not only was Frankie in need of surgery, but she was in Rhythmic terms advanced in her years � not many top gymnasts compete at this level into their 20�s.
The process of getting Frankie back to the top of her game, involved a big support team and I know each and every member of this team felt an overwhelming sense of pride when the Welsh national anthem filled the SSE Hydro Arena as Frankie stood at the top of her podium.
Everybody, from Sport Medicine (including Physios, Doctors, and Soft Tissue Therapists),to Science Practitioners (including Physiology, Psychology, S&C and Nutritionists), Sport Liaison Officers, Frankie�s coach � Jo Coombes and of course Frankie herself, all played a part in the road to recovery.
The process also took a huge amount of commitment. Frankie over the last two years has averaged three physiotherapy contact sessions a week. This on top of the all the other specialist sessions and training needed to put her at her peak once again. Not many competitors would have the drive, focus and mental strength to come through this rehabilitation and it was by no means an easy process for her.
After such a big operation, Frankie needed to learn to do everything again. Our work started with taking Frankie back to very basic movement patterns, creating a stronger foundation for her to build on. We then focussed on reintegrating her training programme, which took Frankie on a whole new learning curve.
During the first 12 months particularly we had to do a lot of holding back and negotiation. Frankie was used to a very demanding training schedule of pushing her body to its limits to achieve her ambitions, and our new plan was different. The process has required Frankie to learn and understand how much her hip could physically take and when she needed to say �that�s enough for today�, a difficult phrase for any athlete to utter.
With time and support she managed to control her frustrations and focussing on her goal balanced her regime perfectly. We added in some soft tissue therapy work to ensure she recovered more effectively for the next training session and she was managing to train fully in the 4 month lead up to the Games.
She looked effortlessly graceful and poised during these final competitions, but her journey has taken sheer effort and determination. I have no doubt her spirit and determination during her recovery period contributed to her nerveless performances in the SSE Hydro Arena last weekend. She had overcome some significant barriers to be in Glasgow in the first place, so she wanted to do herself and her nation proud. I am proud to have worked with such an outstanding athlete, who can now rightly be called a Welsh legend.
An inspirational story, from a young woman who is dedicated to now inspiring others�.
In her first Games with a team, Frankie has also acted very much as a role model providing huge amounts of support to younger squad members such as Laura Halford and Nikara Abbie - a camaraderie that you could see in the interaction between the team mates and their delight at Frankie finally achieving that Gold in the final event.
With both now accomplished medal holders within their own right, (the trio having taken Silver for their team performance, and Laura claiming an additional two Bronze medals during the individual competitions) it is safe to say that the future of Welsh Rhythmic Gymnastics is looking bright.
There�s no doubt that on Thursday and Friday living rooms up and down Wales were momentarily transformed into rhythmic gymnastics venues with Frankie and her younger team mates being shining role models to girls and women across Wales. At a time when we�re committed to making sport a place for all, Frankie�s performance over the last few days will no doubt inspire a whole new generation of children to pick up their ribbons, clubs and hoops and spark a life changing passion for sport.
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