Welsh world champions

[Sporting]

Gerwyn Price
Ray Reardon
Terry Griffiths
Mark Williams

Who else?

[ad hoc]

Colin Jackson
Joe Calzaghe

[ursus arctos]

Nicole Cooke and Elinor Barker come immediately to mind

[Sporting]

Howard Winstone

[tee rex]

Colin Jackson
Joe Calzaghe

The first 2 I thought of, immediately followed by "that 400m hurdles guy", though the fact I couldn't recall his name indicates how quickly he faded from view. Dai Greene.

[Third rate Leszno]

Phil Mills was WRC champion when he co-drove for Petter Solberg.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Leighton Rees was the first World Professional darts champion, back when the BDO version was "the" one.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

There's the speedway lad, Dai Woffinden.

[ad hoc]

Leighton Rees was the first World Professional darts champion, back when the BDO version was "the" one.

I had a goldfish named Leighton, as i won it playing darts at the fair, and that seemed like the most appropriate name

[nmrfox]

Jade Jones

[Ray de Galles]

Nicole Cooke and Elinor Barker come immediately to mind

Becky James too. Geraint Thomas as well if we're counting team events in cycling. Manon Carpenter is a former Mountain Bike World Champion in the Downhill event.

I'm sure I used to have a list somewhere of both historical and current Welsh World Champions that I'll have to see if an can dig out.

[Ray de Galles]

Leighton Rees was the first World Professional darts champion, back when the BDO version was "the" one.

Richie Burnett and Mark Webster won it when it was still a/the meaningful championship too. The current (and last ever?) champion is Welsh too, Wayne Warren.

[Simon G]

Webster is pushing it really. I'd say it lost it's meaningfulness when Barney switched, but I agree with Burnett completely. Burnett in 1995 was what got me into darts in the first place.

[Ray de Galles]

Non Stanford, Triathlon.

[Ray de Galles]

There's the speedway lad, Dai Woffinden.

There was actually a Welsh Speedway Double World Champion, Freddie Williams in 1950 and 1953

[Satchmo Distel]

Dai Rees won the 1957 SPOTY after captaining the Ryder Cup winners. Tied for 2nd in three Opens. Died in a car crash returning from an Arsenal game.

In the 1980 SPOTY ceremony, John Arlott said that the award should have gone to Merthyr's Johnny Owen, who had died on November 4 after a world title defeat to Lupe Pintor, a fight that was so disturbing that the BBC cancelled plans to show it in full. I'm not sure if the UK had a better pound-for-pound boxer that year.

Snooker runner-up: Doug Mountjoy (1981)

[longeared]

Another cyclist - Sally Hodge won the women's points race at the 1988 Worlds.

[nmrfox]

In the 1980 SPOTY ceremony, John Arlott said that the award should have gone to Merthyr's Johnny Owen, who had died on November 4 after a world title defeat to Lupe Pintor, a fight that was so disturbing that the BBC cancelled plans to show it in full. I'm not sure if the UK had a better pound-for-pound boxer that year.

Johnny Owen: The Long Journey is one of the saddest documentaries I've ever seen. Not much moves me to tears, but this was utterly heart-rendering, though definitely a worthwhile watch just to see what drove him and the legacy of his death.

* Apologies for going off topic btw.

[Sporting]

No apologies needed.

[ad hoc]

I'm not sure if winning SPOTY qualifies one as a world champion. In fact, I'm absolutely sure it doesn't.

[Capybara]

Horace Cole, billiards.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

There have been a number of Welsh world champions in bowls - in the singles, Maldwyn Evans was world outdoor champion in 1972, and indoors the world title went to Terry Sullivan in 1985, John Price in 1990 and Robert Weale in 2000. Laura Daniels has been women's singles world champion and has a few wins in pairs events (some indoors in partnership with non Welsh bowlers like Paul Foster in mixed pairs).

[Ray de Galles]

It's difficult in boxing due to the plethora of World Titles available. Plenty of Welsh boxers have held one belt but only unified champions like Calzaghe or boxers from the era before there were all the multiple boxing bodies like Winstone (and even then I think there were two in his era) really count.

[Satchmo Distel]

Sorry for the derail but I think Dai Rees was a greater sportsman than Leighton Rees and I just felt he deserved a shout on this thread.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Clive Sullivan, 1972 RL World Cup. Not on his own admittedly, but did score a try in each game and lifted the trophy as captain.