- Welsh half marathon record holder, Jake Smith, has switched his allegiance to England.
- The move comes six weeks after the runner broke the Welsh half marathon record.
Bermuda-born runner, Jake Smith, was eligible to run for Wales after living in Cardiff and studying at Cardiff Met for three years.
Six weeks ago, Smith broke Steve Jones' Welsh half marathon record at the World Half Marathon Championships. The record had stood for 34 years.
The 22-year-old runner has now made the 'hard decision' to switch his allegiance to England. In a post on Instagram, Smith said, 'This is a hard decision for me to make, but I feel it's the right decision.
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'I thought at first it was only natural for me to turn Welsh as I live here and have done for the past three years but I feel as though I hadn't thought it through properly.
'The big turning point for me was when I broke Steve Jones' - a Welsh legend of distance running - Half Marathon record after only being Welsh for four days.
'As both my parents were born in England and I don't have any family ties in Wales, I would feel much better representing England at future competitions.
'However, I would like to thank Welsh Athletics for everything they have done for me as their support to date has been incredible.'
Smith's half marathon time of one hour 36 seconds is the third fastest time ever recorded by a British athlete over the distance. Smith sits behind Mo Farah and Callum Hawkins.
