OLYMPIC medal-winning cyclist Becky James and rugby league trailblazer Roy Francis have been inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.

Wales women’s football manager Jayne Ludlow, Commonwealth Games badminton champion Kelly Aston and former international cricketer and hockey player Lynne Thomas were also included.

Abergavenny’s James, 26, retired from cycling last year after claiming two silvers at Rio 2016, having battled back from injury and illness to take part in her first Olympic Games.

Prior to that she had won global sprint and keirin titles in 2013, becoming the first British cyclist to land four medals at a world championships.

Cardiff-born Francis, who died aged 70 in 1989, became the first ever black Great Britain rugby league international and the first black British professional coach in any sport.

He won five Welsh caps, scoring one try in a 13-10 defeat of England, and played just once for Great Britain, crossing twice in a 25-9 win over New Zealand in 1947.

Those tries were just two of 229 the winger scored in 356 games in a rugby league career that included spells with Wigan, Barrow, Warrington and Hull FC.

Francis, who had turned out for Brynmawr RFC as a youngster, was appointed coach of Hull when his playing days came to an end.

Under his leadership, Hull won league titles in 1956 and 1958 and were Challenge Cup runners-up in 1959 and 1960.

He left Hull for Leeds in 1963 and oversaw their victory in the famous 1968 Challenge Cup final when Wakefield’s Don Fox missed a kick to win the game from right in front of the posts.

Francis also coached in Australia with the North Sydney Bears before a brief stint back at Leeds, then Bradford Northern.

Wales Rugby League chairman Brian Juliff said: “He was an outstanding player and innovative coach who broke a lot of boundaries as a black man in professional sport.

“He was an exceptional athlete and great ambassador for Wales and rugby league. My posthumous congratulations to a wonderful man.”

Francis becomes the 10th rugby league entrant to the hall of fame after Billy Boston (1990), Jim Sullivan (1992), Lewis Jones (1998), Gus Risman (2000), David Watkins (2000), Jonathan Davies (2003), Willie Davies (2003), Trevor Foster (2004) and Clive Sullivan (2009).

This year’s five entrants takes the overall number of inductees to 140 from 28 sports.

The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame was created in 1980 and is chaired by Laura McAllister following the death of former First Minister Rhodri Morgan last year.

Tokyo 1964 Olympic long jump champion Lynn Davies has become the hall of fame’s president.