From Joe Biden advisor to Olympics debut – the Anna Hursey adventure continues

Anna Hursey plans to add to the teenage triumphs of 2024 when she makes her Olympic Games debut in Paris on Saturday.

The 18-year-old will become the first Welsh athlete to compete in table tennis at an Olympics, although making history is nothing new to the veteran of two Commonwealth Games.

Hursey became Wales’ youngest senior international athlete in any sport at the age of 10 and was a climate change advisor to American president Joe Biden at 14.

“I’ve got used to having people watch me and being in the spotlight because I’ve had that for a long time now,” said Hursey, who joins Liam Pitchford – who is at his fourth Olympics – as the only two British table tennis players in Paris.

“The longer you are competing at a young age, the more it feels natural. I began when I was really young and managed to become one of the best under-12s in the world.

“I carried on through cadet and junior levels and now into the seniors.

“That experience – as well as going to two Commonwealth Games – has really helped me and I feel more excited about Paris than nervous.”

Hursey – who was born in Carmarthen to a Chinese mother and English father before growing up in Swansea and then Cardiff – spent three years honing her skills in China.

The longer you are competing at a young age, the more it feels natural

Her schedule in the city of Tianjin involved remote online schooling and 40 hours a week of intensive training sessions, but the discipline and routine proved invaluable.

After being part of the Wales squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia at the age of 11, she won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles at Birmingham 2022, as a 15-year-old alongside Charlotte Carey.

Now, she is intent on adding to the notable achievements of