• Home
  • Other Sports
  • Jeremiah Azu Aims For Brotherly Boost Now He Is Back Home In Wales

Jeremiah Azu Aims for Brotherly Boost now he is Back Home in Wales

Owen MorganOwen Morgan24 January 2025
Jeremiah Azu and brother Alex celebrate after the 60m final which saw them with gold and bronze medals. Pic: Owen Morgan

Jeremiah Azu and brother Alex celebrate after the 60m final which saw them with gold and bronze medals. Pic: Owen Morgan

Jeremiah Azu is back in Wales and he announced his return with a bang at the Welsh Indoor Athletics Championships. After two years based in Italy, the Olympic 4x100m relay bronze medallist has returned home to Cardiff to be closer to family, friends and coach Helen James.

By Owen Morgan

Jeremiah Azu is back in Wales and he announced his return with a bang at the Welsh Indoor Athletics Championships.

After two years based in Italy, the Olympic 4x100m relay bronze medallist has returned home to Cardiff to be closer to family, friends and coach Helen James.

Azu celebrated his first races back in his home city for two-and-a-half years by winning the Welsh senior 60m title in a new championship best time of 6.64 last weekend.

The occasion was made all the more special for Azu as he was joined on the podium by his younger brother Alex, who claimed the bronze medal behind their fellow training partner and Cardiff Athletics clubmate, Lewis Stephens.

Clearly delighted to be back living, training and competing on home soil, Azu said after the race: “That was amazing. It’s great to be back in Cardiff, where it all began.

“It just makes me smile. Moments like this are why I started in athletics. So, it’s great to experience it at this point in my career.

“I’ve moved back home and we’ve practised a lot of stuff in training, so it was an opportunity to try and test it out.

“I haven’t raced this championship since 2020 and I’ve never actually won it. Today has allowed me to look back and see how far I’ve come. Sometimes we’re so focused on the next thing, but reflection is quite important.

“It’s just been a day of reflection. It’s been a day of sharing these moments with the people that are closest to me.

“I haven’t raced in Cardiff since 2022 at the Run With the Wind meeting. So, it was two years ago outdoors, and five years ago indoors.

“It’s just cool to be back. I always feel the support from the Welsh nation so it’s great to compete in front of them.”

Indeed, Azu is hoping his return to Wales will help the development of other athletes within his training group under coach James.

“The move back to Wales wasn’t just about me,” explains Azu. “I’m getting to train with these guys that I’m on the podium with. Lewis (Stephens), he’s a good chap, my brother, I want Wales to be a country that’s spoken about all over the place, you know?

“It’s not going to be easy, but that’s the goal, to drag as many people as I can with me.”

Helping to plot that goal will be coach James, who first convinced the teenage Azu to switch from football to athletics and guided him to his early success.

“It’s amazing being back with Helen,” said Azu. “She really knows how to get me in the right frame of mind for competing.

“She’ll give me little comments, or gestures, or looks, and it’ll just put my mind in the right place.

“And I think athletics, I’ve learned, is not all mental, but it’s a huge part of it. I’d say like 80 to 90 per cent of it is mental. Once you have any doubt, it’s game over.

“So yeah, I’m really focusing on the mental part of it, learning about myself, about how to compete. It’s an ongoing process. It never stops.”

It certainly doesn’t. Azu’s next goal is to reach the 100m final at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Back in Cardiff, with his family, faith and friends behind him, you wouldn’t bet against it.

Related News

Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton celebrate their World Cup triumph in 2023. Pic: Alamy

Jonny Clayton And Gerwyn Price Are Out To Nuke The Lukes!

It is two years since Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton put Wales on top of the darts world for the second time and now they are chasing a hat-trick, as David Parsons reports.

David Parsons | 12 hours ago
Elfyn Evans at Rally Sardinia. Pic. Alamy

Elfyn Evans Relaxed Even Though His WRC Lead Has Been Cut After Sardinia

His lead at the top of the World Rally Championship may have been trimmed, but Elfyn Evans is not too concerned.

Ian Gordon | Jun 09, 2025
Elfyn Evans in Sardinia

Elfyn Evans Eyes Climb After Gruelling Opening Day In Sardinia

Elfyn Evans endured a tough time on the opening day of Rally Italia Sardegna, but remains optimistic conditions will suit him better on day two.

David Parsons | Jun 07, 2025
Colin Jackson. Pic. Alamy

Colin Jackson And Other Welsh Legends Join World Athletics Bid

The 2029 World Athletics Championships could be coming to the UK if a call from some of the legends of the sport in Wales is taken up.

Owen Morgan | Jun 05, 2025
Ben Pritchard. Pic. Alamy

Ben Pritchard Reflects On Record-Breaking Triumph As European Rowing Champion

Ben Pritchard is now the man to beat in para single sculls rowing after coming home to Wales as European champion, to add to his status as Paralympic champion earned last year.

David Williams | Jun 03, 2025
Gerwyn Price. Pic: Alamy

Gerwyn Price Admits He “Fell Off The Rails” As He Falls Short In Premier League

Gerwyn Price looked as if he might contine his exceptional playing record against Luke Littler, but was eventually blasted out by The Nuke.

Gareth James | May 30, 2025