WHEN Mikey Jones steps poolside for his Paralympic debut next week, he will have a poignant reminder of his late father tucked in his pocket.

Before he died just seven weeks ago, Bernard Jones allowed his wife Shirley to cut two locks of his hair that she and Mikey could take to Rio.

By a remarkable coincidence, Jones is one of two New Milton athletes in the 30-strong British para-swimming team which flies to Rio today.

The other, Alice Tai, 17, will be Dorset’s first Paralympic swimmer through her membership of Bournemouth Collegiate School’s swimming academy.

Tai is already a seasoned international with world and European medals on her CV.

But Jones, 22, will make his international debut in Rio just seven weeks after his father’s death following a long illness. He was selected for this year’s European Championships but withdrew due to injury.

Shirley said: “Five days before Bernard died, I asked him if I could cut off two locks of hair in case he didn’t make it until Rio.

“He told me to make sure I took enough. It’s a shame he won’t get to see his son on Channel 4 but at least he knew he would be with us in Rio.”

Like many Paralympians, both Tai and Jones have overcome huge physical and mental challenges to pursue their sport.

Tai was born with two club feet and deformed lower legs and had 14 operations between the ages of 20 weeks and 12 years. The surgery fused her feet and ankles which have no movement.

She began her swimming with Christchurch-based Seagulls before joining BCS.

She competed in the Dorset Championships and open meets as well as disability meets, often reaching finals or winning medals against able-bodied swimmers.

At 16 she joined British Para-swimming’s National Performance Centre in Manchester.

But the pressures of juggling schoolwork and training proved too great and in November she came home and did not go near a pool for two months.

BCS coaches Zoe Baker and Adam Parfitt eventually lured her back to training and got her fit enough to qualify for Rio – after which she was asked to return to Manchester.

Jones has cerebral palsy and started out with New Milton Torpedoes and then Seagulls after they merged before winning a swimming scholarship to Mount Kelly in Devon. He turned down a place on the para-sailing squad to concentrate on swimming – although that may come later.

Jones’s career was interrupted by three major operations in 2012.

Both Tai and Jones are medal prospects in Rio with Jones ranked number one in the world in the S7 400m freestyle.

He also swims in the 50m and 100m freestyle while Tai goes in the S10 100m backstroke, butterfly and freestyle and relays.