17/08/2016 BBC Wales Today

Helping to bring the tally to 50 medals with

History is made - records broken in Rio.

Celebrations for Hannah Mills, expected to be crowned

More medals have been won by Welsh athletes than ever before.

The emotion has just poured out of me, I didn't know what to say,

It was just the most bizarre feeling.

Hannah's supporters here at her yacht club are being made

Her final event starts late, but no pressure -

they could finish last and still get gold.

Finishing straight, has Becky James got the strength to do it?

She overcame injury and illness - Becky James picks up

There were points when I wanted to quit, I couldn't deal

with the stress and the emotion that I was going through, but,

you know, looking back now, it was all worth going through.

Welsh athletes have exceeded expectations so far in these games -

and there could be more medals to come.

After party infighting, Ukip's leader in Wales,

Nathan Gill, says he's leaving his group in the Senedd

and will sit as an independent Assembly Member.

At work on the production line - the unemployment rate in Wales drops

And, Ted and Lucy Hocknell died after a fire in their home.

Mr Hocknell was a decorated war veteran, honoured for his part

Within the next hour, sailor Hannah Mills is set to become

the third Welsh athlete to win Olympic gold.

Mills and her partner Saskia Clark have done enough to win gold before

tonight's final event - they need only to finish the race.

It'd be a record ninth medal for Welsh athletes.

These medals have helped make it the most successful

So, let's take a look at our medallists.

Six silvers so far, after 12 days of competition -

two in the pool for Jazz Carlin, Becky James got her second silver

in the velodrome last night, a silver too for Victoria Thornley

in the rowing, James Davies and Sam Cross also on the podium

A third gold medal is expected tonight -

one short of the record four golds won by Welsh athletes back in 1920.

Cyclists Owain Doull and Elinor Barker struck gold

in the velodrome, and tonight Hannah Mills is set to get gold.

Live now to Rio and Catrin Heledd - champagne's on ice

It is indeed. What is the saying? The best things come to those who

wait. Hannah Mills will have to wait a little longer before the gold

medal is actually around her neck. The medals race in the women's 470

has been delayed because of the weather. Not enough wind, would you

believe? They are on the water at the moment but if they don't go

today they will try again tomorrow. Complete the course

and the gold is theirs. Such has been their dominance

of this regatta that Hannah Mills from Cardiff and partner

Saskia Clark were almost certain of victory even before

the medal race. Yesterday, this was the reaction

to an unassailable lead. Complete and utter shock,

the emotion has just poured out of me, I didn't know what to say,

didn't know what to do. It was the most

bizarre feeling ever. It's been a difficult couple

of weeks here at Marina da Gloria, changeable conditions meaning that

races have been postponed, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark have

dealt with it best and after silver in London four years ago they're

about to become Olympic champions. As a member of the Team GB support

staff in Rio, working day in, day out with the sailors,

the lead physiotherapist at Sport Wales takes huge pride

in what the 470 girls have achieved. The blood, sweat and tears

of four years, and maybe eight years for some,

or 12 years even if they've been in a couple of cycles and not

achieved a medal before, I'm not sure that we would ever

really understand that emotion And being part of the support staff,

every one of us, you know, even those of us that

are here supporting and people that are at home that have worked really

hard with these athletes, would take pride in a piece of

that sort of medal. There's a ninth on the way for Welsh

athletes, a third gold. Well, there weren't just scenes

of celebration in Rio but also at Hannah Mills's sailing club

in Cardiff Bay. Rebecca, Hannah's friends

and supporters there That is right. The excitement is

building, they just want the race to start now, but as you have reported

there is a delay. The flags and bunting are out and the champagne is

on ice. It is a similar evening in Cardiff Bay, calm and quiet and very

beautiful but not good for sailing. With me is Jess Lavery from the

British sailing team. You have trained with Hannah and Saskia, what

is Hannah like? Really focused, as soon as you get on the water she is

really focused, they have a clear goal and they make sure they drive

for it, the same in the gym. Of the water they are really relaxed and

they know how to keep the time off and on the way to separate. What do

you make of the fact that hopefully with a bit of wind they will be gold

medallists? It is amazing, I was following it last night and to know

they have done it is amazing, they will be over the moon and absolutely

buzzing. What will it mean for British sailing hopefully? It is

great to come home with another gold-medal, it shows that the work

that the sailors and everybody around the sport is putting in is

paying off and we are doing something right and can push forward

to Tokyo 2020. With me is Ben Smith, an instructor at the club. You have

known Hannah from the start, have a new? Yes, we learnt together at the

centre on the north side of Cardiff and here at Cardiff play yacht club

and around South Wales -- South Wales as well. I am so happy for

them, it is great for South Wales and for her, they were disappointed

after London but all of that hard effort has paid off and it is

brilliant. Obviously sailing is not as easy and accessible as clicking a

football around the park and you have had an event today to show that

it can be for everybody. Yes, the club owns boats like every other

club in south Wales so if you want to come down it doesn't really cost

anything, people are always happy to take you out. So the champagne is

nice here? Definitely. People can't wait for the race to start so the

party can get started hopefully later on this evening.

People are very proud there, thank you very much.

A year ago, cyclist Becky James was still recovering from a chronic

knee injury and traumatised by a cancer scare.

The thought that she would be leaving the Olympics

with not one but two medals would have seemed unthinkable.

But tonight she's celebrating winning a second

A hug from dad after a gruelling few days on the track.

The hard work has paid off for Becky James.

She's now a double silver Olympic medallist.

Last night the former double world champion spoke of her frustration

Today, though, time to reflect and to appreciate just how far she's

come, after two years plagued with injury and illness.

It's all been about Rio and getting to the Olympics and this last year

especially has just been getting my fitness back and getting

I just feel so relieved that I'm back to my old self,

back to some really good form, so I'm just going to see

There were points when I wanted to quit, I couldn't deal

with the stress and the emotion that I was going through,

but looking back now it was all worth going through that for this.

And during those dark days her family members,

some here in Rio, others back in Wales, have been her rock.

I know, I suppose it was that close you think, oh, if only,

but you can't say "if only" from where she's been

The fact that Becky's made it back from this injury and to win

two silvers is just an unbelievable achievement.

She is probably the epitome of a dedicated athlete,

I've seen her for the last 18 months, you know,

it's been a real struggle, she's had some very much low points,

where she wasn't even sure if she could make it back

or she wanted to make it back, but she kept her

There will be more of these opened when she returns home.

In Abergavenny there's been plenty of support from her old cycling

club, who have been following her progress throughout.

Just about everybody in Abergavenny loves her to bits.

I just want to say to you Becky, straight to you, this is just

the most amazing thing, I never could have dreamt this

Two silver medals at the top of the sport,

It's fantastic that a young lady from Abergavenny has achieved that.

So is this the start of a new era for Becky?

She's been inspirational really in terms of what she's achieved

and the time and there's still so much more to come,

you know there's more she has to offer.

So in four years' time I think she'll definitely

For Becky James, just getting to these games was a dream country.

She's exceeded expectations and now leaves Rio with two very

more medals to come - who should we look out

Definitely, plenty more medal opportunities for Welsh athletes in

Team GB over the next few days. Let's start with the reigning

Olympic champion, Jayden Jones, she will be defending her taekwondo

crown tomorrow. -- Jade. It all starts around 1pm for you guys back

home, if she makes it to the final it will be late on Friday, 2am. We

expect Sarah Mandy Davies to go in the four times 100 relay heats. The

final is on Saturday and on Saturday as well, two former world champions,

both from Wales, Helen James and Lon Stamford going head-to-head. I think

we will be in double figures by the end of these games.

Put this into context for us - how does the class of 2016 compare

The previous record medal haul for Welsh athletes was seven, set in

London four years ago, three golds, for silver, won bronze. In Beijing,

five medals. Only the one bronze in Athens in 2004, that was the David

Davies in the pool. In 1920, they were considered the best for Wales,

four gold medals, but only two of those were one in the same race, the

relay race. It is fair to say that these athletes in Rio have got into

the history books and exceeded all expectations. Plenty to look forward

to, thank you very much. Hopefully more medals to come,

and you won't miss a moment - we'll have more from Rio

throughout the week. In other news, the UK

Independence Party's leader in Wales, Nathan Gill,

says he is leaving the party's group in the Senedd and will instead be

an independent Assembly Member. But he won't leave the party

and will stay on as a Ukip Member It follows weeks of infighting

over his position in the party. I swear that I will be faithful and

their two -- true allegiance. Three months since the election and the

Ukip Assembly group is down from seven to six. Nathan Gill was the

face of the party but he was beaten by Neil Hamilton in a vote to become

root leader. The Russian ship has been strained ever since, with

Nathan Gill supporters criticising Hamilton the living outside Wales

and Hamilton and his supporters attacking Nathan Gilford double

jobbing, will serving as an MP and an AM. Today Nathan Gill said the

infighting had become a distraction. There have been calls for the Nathan

to step down from one of the roles, although structurally he really

can't do that. He can't be replaced as an MEP so he can't step down from

that and as the face of the campaign in Wales it seems like a slight to

say he must give up his position in the Assembly. Neil Hamilton's

immediate response to the news, to say the group won't notice much

difference. I would rather be a group of seven than six but given he

is a part-time and we don't see much of him in practical terms it won't

make much difference. He should do the honourable thing and resign his

seat as an Assembly Member because he has left our group. The

factionalism reflects a split across the UK. But simplistic Lee, a split

between those loyal to outgoing leader Nigel Farage and those like

Hamilton opposed to them. The party not only in Wales but across the UK

are in turmoil and it is a symptom of their infighting and we might

even see more disruption within the party in the next coming months and

years. Congratulations, Neil! Despite its success in the Assembly

election and the UK referendum, Ukip has been dogged by personality

clashes and faces big questions about its future direction.

The unemployment rate in Wales has dropped

The latest Office for National Statistics figures show

4.3% of people were out of work in Wales between April and June,

a smaller percentage than the UK's unemployment rate as a whole,

Our economics correspondent, Sarah Dickins, has this report.

Until recently made in China, now made in Wales. This like company has

moved back to the UK, taking over part of the ICI plant near

Pontypool. James head is one of the first 16 workers there. I have been

out of work for 18 months but prior to that I did mostly agency or

temporary work, I haven't had a permanent job for seven years. Many

others like James are in permanent work, employment is no longer the

biggest weakness in the Welsh economy. The unemployment rate in

Wales has been below the UK for five consecutive months and the gap is

getting wider, it is now 5.3% -- 4.3% compared to 4.6%. The UK has

remained at 4.9%. It is good news that unemployment is not the problem

for Wales that it has been for several years but what is a little

concerning is that the number of people working in Wales looks like

it is contracting a bit. Between April and June there were 14,000

fewer people working in Wales than the first three months of the year.

That could be a blip and compare it to a year ago there are 17,000 more

people working in Wales. The bike company is the brainchild of a

husband and wife in Surrey. They wanted bikes for their children,

couldn't find them and spotted a gap in the market. In time they wanted

to make them in the UK and chose Wales with its pool of experienced

workers. We have a big pool of resources in south Wales on tap

because of the history we have had in the past and a number of

redundancies over the past few years. Jack had experience from

working on a community bike scheme. I already knew quite a lot of stuff

about the bikes we were building so it is pretty good. That helped you

get this work here? Yeah, it helped out a lot in the interview! The

challenge for Wales is to keep growing its skilled jobs to help

lift the whole economy and not just the unemployment figures.

Cash donations from the public collected by Machynlleth Town

Council after the murder of five-year-old April Jones

shouldn't have been accepted, according to an audit report.

The council banked more than ?71,000 of public money before

transferring it to April's fund, something it didn't

Wales' only FTSE 100 company, Admiral, has reported a 4%

rise in pre-tax profit, to more than ?193 million -

It says prices have risen for UK car insurance and that the market

There's a risk that higher education in Wales will become "second rate"

if tuition fees here aren't increased in line with England.

That's the warning tonight from Swansea University's Vice

Chancellor, Professor Richard Davies.

Fees at universities over the border will go up next year -

but before any changes are made HERE, the Welsh Government

want to see the findings of a review into funding,

It's a controversial subject which never fails

Six years ago, peaceful protests over tuition fees descended

into chaos when MPs voted to increase the fees in England.

Now there are plans to increase fees there again, raising the cap

from ?9,000 a year to ?9,250 from 2017.

A similar increase has the potential to raise an extra ?3 million a year

for a university like Swansea but currently there are no similar

That could be damaging to the standard of education,

If you underfund higher education in one part of the UK or in any part

of the world, that education is eventually going to become

second-rate compared with other parts of the world.

However, we are not going to allow that to happen.

We are very good here in Swansea and elsewhere in Wales at finding

However, student representatives from across Wales aren't too keen

Raising the fees is only going to stop people from marginalised,

lower-income backgrounds, areas, accessing higher education.

If it gets increased it's just going to put more barriers and just

put more people off, because people are just going to be

thinking about their graduate debt instead of investing in their

Tuition fees are spiralling out of control, according to the unions.

The fee cap in England will increase in line with inflation,

meaning fees there will rise above ?10,000 in the next few years,

a situation they want to avoid in Wales.

We believe that any raise in fees or any more debt on students

is terrible because students are leaving university

Welsh students pay ?3900 of their tuition fees,

There is a review under way at the moment, looking at the future

The Diamond review will be published in the autumn.

The Welsh government says it will consider its finding

when Assembly Members come back from their summer holidays.

One thing we do know is that most of the evidence that it has

received says that things can't go on as they are.

Back in Swansea, they are celebrating the opening

of their brand-new campus but they say it's desperately urgent

that the funding structure is resolved in Wales so they can

plan similar investments for the future.

And it's that time of year again - tomorrow is A-Level results day.

Nervous moments across the country, I am sure.

We'll be at schools and colleges across the country

Tributes have been paid to an elderly couple who died

in a fire at their home in Deganwy, near Llandudno, yesterday.

They've been named locally as Ted Hocknell, who was 93,

and his wife, 88-year-old Lucy Hocknell.

Two years ago, Mr Hocknell was honoured by the Russian Government

for his part in the Arctic supply convoys during the Second World War,

Ted Hocknell was part of a vital supply chain which helped keep

the then Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany.

Braving the worst of the weather and the constant U-boat threat,

the convoys carried everything from fuel to food.

But the couple's friend Ian Turner said Ted Hocknell rarely spoke

of his wartime service and certainly never considered himself a hero.

He did mention it every now and then, he did also carry

a photograph of the ship around in his inside pocket.

He would always say how cold it was, he would often tell me

about the conditions, that if you touched the metalwork,

the railings around the ship, how you would stick

Friends speak, too, of Ted Hocknell's devotion

to his wife Lucy, who died with him in the fire.

In Llandudno, where they ran a furniture business,

Ted Hocknell was also honoured for saving two children who'd got

He was one of the stalwarts of the town for decades,

he started off on the knocker, going around with his suitcase,

selling linen, and he eventually opened a shop here in town

and he supported the town over the years in all sorts of ways.

The couple lived on this private road in Deganwy.

The Fire Service said the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

Let's take at a look at the weather forecast - Behnaz is here.

Any more of this lovely sunshine on the way?

The weather is on the change but we can squeeze in mock -- one more warm

day tomorrow. There is a lot more cloud, associated with the weather

front. Not a lot of rain but a few showers and tonight we will see the

rain pushing up from the south-west. The further north you are, staying

dry tonight with clear skies. South Wales the rain eases as we go

through the night. The low-level cloud and mist, very mild,

temperatures no lower than 14 to 17. We have the weather front ringing

quite a lot of cloud tomorrow, the further north and east you are it is

dry and bright. A dry, cloudy start across the south-east but a bit of

rain across mid Wales. Cloudier for Anglesey and Gwinnett, but the odd

spot of rain will clear. In Ceredigion light winds and a bit of

rain that will clear quickly. In Carmarthenshire a bit of rain for

the rush hour as well. Through the day the rain band will clear, the

best of the weather on the north coast. Elsewhere, limited

brightness, a lot of cloud and the risk of the odd shower. By the

afternoon most of us can look forward to dry conditions,

temperatures around the average for the time of year, 18 to 22 Celsius.

Into tomorrow night, quiet at first, a few showers. Overnight we start to

see patchy rain spreading in from the south-west. Another mild night,

temperatures remaining in double figures, and misty conditions,

temperatures around 15 to 16 degrees. Wet and windy conditions

through Friday and into the weekend so you need to grab the umbrella for

the end of the week and into Saturday. Heavy pulses of rain

through the day on Friday, strong winds from the south-easterly or

action, temperatures 16 to 20 degrees, you might need an extra

layer. -- south-easterly direction. Saturday is probably the worst day

of the weekend with heavy showers and possibly thundery conditions,

dryer and brighter on Sunday but the risk of rain later on.

Hannah Mills is poll -- poised to become the third competitor from

Wales in Team GB to wind Olympic gold. She and her partner had done

enough to wind the race before this final phase, which they only have to

finish. The emotion has poured out of me, I

didn't know what to say or do. Sooner is she gets on the water she

is very focused and the same in the gym, but off the water they are

really relaxed and they know how to keep sailing separate to the time of

the water. Abergavenny cyclist Becky James has

been celebrating after claiming her second silver medal of the games.

The 24-year-old has put injury and illness behind her. Last night she

was narrowly beaten in the sprint final. The last year especially has

been about getting fit again and getting back to a really good

standard and I am so relieved that I am back to some really good form so

I will just see where it takes me. There were points where I wanted to

quit, I couldn't deal with the stress and the emotion, but looking

back now it was all worth going through that for this.

Ukip's leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, has left their group in the

Assembly. He says he will be an independent would -- but will keep

his position as a Ukip MP. You can keep up with the sailing on

our website. Bbc.co.uk/walesnews -

and I'll have a news update From all of us on the programme,

have a good evening.