Amateur athletes in Carmarthenshire who represent Wales in their sports will be able to train for free at various centres.

This is made possible due to Carmarthenshire County Council’s Actif Sport and Leisure service's Gold Card Scheme which supports unpaid athletes.

Anyone who represents Wales in their chosen sport and lives in Carmarthenshire can access facilities within Actif’s Leisure Centres, at no cost, to enhance current training regimes.

Llanelli Athletics Club is a notable example of the beneficiaries of this scheme.

The club boasts five Welsh internationals who leverage the benefits of the Gold Card Membership.

Among its members, Harrison Wheeler and Jonathan Williams have both represented Wales in the 400m and x100m relay, with the latter in the Welsh Masters 35-40 age category.

Lisa Franklin is a Welsh Masters international in the 55-60 age category in Javelin and 4 x 100m relay, while Mari Wilson has represented Wales in Pentathlon and Darcy Coslett in the 300m.

These athletes, coached by Chris Franklin, make use of their Gold Card Membership to train at the Ammanford Athletics Track and to access Llanelli Leisure Centre Swimming Pool and gym facilities for cross-training, recovery and regular training.

Lisa Franklin, said: "All of our athletes that represent Wales use their Gold Card Membership.

"Being able to access another track facility, which is available 7 days a week, helps with extra training sessions and is a big benefit for us, especially with fitting in around various competitions.

"Our athletes are so very grateful to Actif Sport and Leisure for their support.

"The Gold Card is such a valuable asset, not only in providing extra training facilities but also as a financial support and an incentive to continue to train hard and compete at a high level."

Carmarthenshire County Council was also proud of the scheme, as stated by the council's head of leisure, Ian Jones.

He said: "We are very proud of our homegrown athletes that go on to represent Wales on the international stage.

"Carmarthenshire County Council recognises the hours upon hours of commitment, dedication and training that these amateur athletes put into their sport, for no financial gain, and it’s good to see that the support of the Gold Card Scheme is being taken up by our Welsh internationals."

For more information about the Gold Card Scheme, those interested can visit Actif Sport and Leisure’s official website.