“To win you have to swim upstream early on — and that requires hard work and long hours. There are no short cuts”— Clara Shih

Logan Jones may not be the tallest or most muscular swimming specimen.

Neither might he possess an abnormally elongated torso, with shovels masquerading as hands and cartoon-like flippers for feet à la the record 23-times Olympic gold medal-winner Michael Phelps or Australian legend Ian “Thorpedo” Thorpe, a five-times Olympic champion.

A fashion cover photo on GQ magazine would appear unlikely — at least in the near future. But he is only 12 years old and things rapidly change.

By his own admission, Logan is an average student, nothing special and not one to particularly stand out in a crowd, unless the crowd happen to be poolside at one of his swim meets.

When the tips of his hands hit the water, a creature of proportions exponential to those visible at casual glance emerges as Jones’s entrance has clear, meaningful intent to swim faster than anyone else.

His introduction to the waters of the Atlantic at the age of 2 precipitated a love affair with swimming that has blossomed to the point of him occupying a position among the upper echelon of his age group, both home and abroad.

“I’ve always loved the water,” Jones said. “When I was really young, my dad taught me how to swim and I just fell in love with it.”

It was not the wading-in from pristine shores that captivated the infant Logan, but being able to dive, flip and bombshell Bermuda-style from off the dock affixed to his parents’ shorelined property, often with friends.

Playful antics, though, does not a champion make, for speed in the pool comes through endless hours churning inside the lanes under keen observation, intense instruction and demand, often during early-morning hours while the “frolickers”’ remain comatose and the sun has yet to take hold.

“I’ve had to work hard in order to get better and move up to where I am now, but it’s genetics as well,” said the Sharks Swim Club member, who trains under the tutelage of national coach Ben Smith.

“Swimming is in my genes and just came easy to me. When I started I was usually at the top, but now many of my competitors are getting older and so it’s getting harder.”

When asked his opinion of Jones as a competitive swimmer and athlete, coach Smith feels that he is at an embryonic stage of development.

“Logan is still young and we are figuring out what kind of athlete he will be,” Smith said. “He has real potential but we have to be patient to make sure that he has the correct technical development.

“He is a good young man with a competitive personality. He can be hard on himself and sometimes allows outside pressure from others to impact his performance. I hope to guide him to be strong in the pool and out of it, with focus on the classroom being even more important than results in the pool.

“Logan is making steady progress in swimming. He has made really good progress over the past season with corrections to his technique and focus on the details of swimming. He has not competed for Bermuda internationally at this point in his development, but has some good overseas exposure.”

The past few summers have witnessed the advance of Jones from recreational water enthusiast to one in serious study and practice of competitive aquatics.

It was in 2018 that Jones first made headlines, becoming Vermont’s Boys Under-8 state champion in the 50 metres freestyle, while placing second in three other events.

After missing out in 2019 and 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jones returned to the New England state in 2021, offering reminders of his prowess in seizing four golds and a silver at the Southern Vermont Championships, along with a bronze at the highly competitive state level.

The hits kept coming this summer, as Jones’s venture to the Green Mountain State turned out to be his best ever, as he swam in eight meets while setting 24 personal bests in 32 races.

At the Southern Vermont Championships, he blew away the competition to the tune of four gold medals, while establishing southern regional records in the 200 metres freestyle (2min 16.22sec) and 100 backstroke (1:11.88).

Later, at the state finals, the Bermudian won two golds and two silver medals, managing three more personal bests.

“I was definitely proud of myself because all the hard work I had put in during the summer had paid off and I was really excited to have accomplished what I had set out to do,” said Jones, with pride still evident.

Nevertheless, 2022 has not been all “wine and roses” as Jones has had to suffer through the disappointment of not qualifying for the Bermuda squads that travelled south to the Carifta Swimming and Open Water Championships in April or the CCCAN Swimming and Open Water Championships three months later.

Exposing a sound level of maturity, the swimmer has taken such failures in stride, and as motive to work even harder than he has, so that next time his selection will be undeniable.

“There was some disappointment, but I knew that I wasn’t fast enough to get there,” he said. “Hopefully, in the future I can make it to the CCCAN and Carifta.”

Also among the youngster’s future goals is a trip to the Olympic Games, where both his grandfather, Walter Jones, and great-uncle, Norman Jones, previously saw action, competing in sailing at the 1960 event in Rome, while his father travelled to the 1996 Games in Atlanta as sail team trainer and reserve crew for Star class skipper Peter Bromby.

The younger Jones has also dabbled in triathlon and is due to compete in the Carifta Triathlon, Aquathon and Mixed Team Relay Championships, which will be held in November.

To get to his preferred destination, Jones understands many of the rigours he will have to endure, including many more hours in the pool, together with strength training, film study and the dreaded dietary aspect, where all things enjoyable to consume are, seemingly, discouraged.

“Yeah, it takes a lot and a lot of sacrifice, but I love swimming,” he says, matter-of-factly. “My nutrition, to be honest, could be better. I try to eat well and eat the right things, but it could be better.”

Chimed in his father, speaking to his son’s eating habits: “As with many youngsters, he does not say ‘No’ to pizza and ice cream. However, he does understand that he needs to change this very soon. In other words, as soon as he enters the Warwick Academy High Performance Programme.

“He is ready to make the required sacrifice; just don’t flash an ice cream within arm’s reach!”