Jeremiah Azu: Welsh sprinter ‘only looking forward’ after ‘bittersweet’ Olympics

Wales’ fastest man, Jeremiah Azu, says he is excited about returning to his old coach in Cardiff after a “bittersweet” experience at the Paris Olympics.

The Welsh record holder in the men’s 100m has left coach Marco Airale and his training base in the Italian city of Padova, where he had been since 2022.

Under Airale, Azu reached his first Olympics in Paris last summer, where he recovered from individual disqualification to help Great Britain to relay bronze.

But Azu, 23, has opted to return to the guidance of coach Helen James, who encouraged him to take up athletics as a teenager.

“She has a way with her words that makes my mind start to believe I can do these things,” Azu told BBC Sport Wales.

“Every time I came back, she would always fill me with confidence and I feel like that is something I didn’t have over the last couple of years.

“So yes, I’m just taking it back to the beginning.”