Hughes admits she was “always sporty” and her environment at school allowed her to combine her passions.
“I stopped doing gymnastics when I was 12 or 13 just because I had lots and lots of injuries and I was always quick, so I got into [athletics],” she explained.
“I took up sports at school so we did hockey and netball.
“I was about 14 or 15 when they were like ‘We don’t have a goalkeeper, do you want to go in goal?’
“Being competitive, I didn’t want my team to lose, so kind of hopped in there.
“I’ve been doing athletics since I was about 11 but it was heptathlon for a little while, then I specialised into long jump when I was 14, so similar timeframes.”
Hughes says her long jump coach Phil Warwicker has been very patient with her desire to compete at both sports.
“Long jump has always kind of taken a back seat but my coach has been so supportive, so great at letting me have the time off to complete both,” said Hughes.
“We’re finally seeing the rewards and I can do both.
“After last year, the British Universities and Colleges Sport [BUCS] bronze and medalling at a couple of championships, it has proven to me I can definitely compete at both.”
February’s Welsh Indoor Championships saw her fourth-round jump take the senior crown.
“I’ve dreamed of being Welsh champion so to do it at home in my home training track at the NIAC [National Indoor Athletics Centre] was great,” she said.
“I knew the big jumps were coming in training, it was just a point of executing them, and making sure I went out and performed to my best.
“I’ve been second at the junior champs more times than I can remember and once at the seniors so to finally get gold meant a lot to me.”
If the day ever comes where Hughes has to make a decision about which sport she has to choose to continue over the other, she is in no doubt about how she will make up her mind.
She said: “Whichever one I’m enjoying the most or succeeding the most in at that time, but at the moment they both seem to be going well.”
BBC News