Athlete. Born in Edinburgh, where he was educated at Liberton High School, Wells became a champion long-jumper while still at school. Trained by his wife Margot and concentrating on sprinting, he was able to win a gold medal in the 100m and a silver medal in the 200m at the 1978 Commonwealth Games (Edmonton, Canada). He repeated these results at the 1980 Olympic Games (Moscow), becoming the oldest-ever winner of the 100m, and went on to win both races at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, held in Brisbane (Australia). He also took a bronze medal in the 4 x 100m relay. The same year he was awarded an MBE. Wells retired from competitive sport in 1988 and went on to work as a systems engineer at the University of Guildford. In 2001, Wells became one of the first members of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.