Teenage kicks! Ecstatic Jade Jones takes Britain's first ever Taekwondo gold

 
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9 August 2012

Welsh fighter Jade Jones tonight made history by becoming Britain's first Olympic taekwondo champion.

The 19-year-old, from Flint, North Wales, claimed a gold medal at the ExCel Centre in east London after beating China's Yuzhuo Hou 6-4 in the women's 57kg final.

She is the second British woman to carve out a place in history for herself today - Nicola Adams earlier became the first ever gold medal woman boxer.

Jones, whose grandfather Martin Foulkes got her to start the sport aged eight to keep her off the streets, was given rapturous applause after she claimed the prize.

She threw her helmet in the air and did a lap of honour carrying the Union Flag after the final bell.

Earlier today she pulled off a shock victory over the world number one Tseng Li-Cheng of Chinese Taipei to earn a place in the final.

The crowd chanted "GB" and waved a sea of Union Flags at the jubilant teenager.

Earlier in the evening, Britain's Martin Stamper narrowly missed out on a medal.

The 25-year-old from Liverpool was beaten 5-3 by Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpah in the men's 68kg bronze medal match.

Shy, retiring and totally focused is how Jade Jones is described by her family.

The 19-year-old first took up the tough fighting sport of taekwondo aged just eight and it was her grandfather Martin Foulkes who put her on the road to the Olympics.

He wanted to keep her off the streets of Flint, a no-nonsense little town in North Wales - and with the backing of her community she has now achieved her mission.

Mr Foulkes, along with her mother Jayne Ferguson, was at ExCeL to cheer her on. He was the first to get the young "bundle of energy" to try her luck at taekwondo.

Jade had tried football and athletics but was with her grandfather one day at Flint Pavilion Leisure Centre when he spotted a poster advertising the sport.

They met Martin Williams, who became her first coach, and after a taster session the quiet and retiring eight-year-old "absolutely loved it", soon becoming hooked on the the Korean martial art.

She soon won student of the year awards at her club followed by national competition prizes and at the age of 15 decided to switch from International Taekwondo Federation rules to the World Taekwondo Federation code of the sport that features in the Olympics.

After leaving Flint High School at 16, Jade took up the sport full-time and her grandfather again stepped in, taking her to regular training sessions 60 miles over the border at the Manchester Aces club, where her dedication and talent was spotted and nurtured.

Her goal was to try to get into the Team GB squad for London 2012 - and she was not afraid to say she wanted to win gold.

Jade was invited to become part of GB taekwondo's elite training hub in Manchester, eventually earning a place on the Olympic team.

She now trains every day from 9am until midday in the gym, weights or running to build strength before sparring and working on technique. After a rest break, Jade will train again from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.

Outside the sport Jade enjoys music and being around friends and family and still pops back to her old club in Flint to look in on training sessions.

Her supporters have packed out Flint Sports and Social Club to watch her on the big-screen and they have played their part.

When money was needed to send Jade to the Youth Olympic qualifying tournament in Mexico, they dug deep and got her there.

Her medal is an achievement she will gladly share with the people of her home town.

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