Jade Jones wins Olympic taekwondo gold for Great Britain
Last updated on .From the section Olympics
Jade Jones claimed Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal and the hosts' 25th of the London Games.
The 19-year-old beat Yuzhuo Hou 6-4 to take the women's -57kg title and avenge the Chinese fighter's sudden-death win at the 2011 World Championships.
After a nervous opening with few scoring opportunities, Jones took control of the final in the second round and powered to victory.
GB's previous best result was Sarah Stevenson's bronze in Beijing.
Jones told BBC Sport: "I still doesn't feel real, it feels crazy. I've dreamt about this for ages and the crowd have just been amazing. This can't be beaten.
"My coach is a legend and without him I wouldn't have been anywhere near where I was today. When I came out, I just wanted to go on and win.
"To be the first ever British taekwondo athlete to win Olympic gold is amazing. To win Olympic gold is special, but to perform in front of all my friends and family is just amazing."
The opening against Hou was tense, as each fighter tested their range during a scoreless first two minutes.
A low blow from the Chinese fighter accrued a second penalty which resulted in a point for Jones towards the end of the second round, while another shot to the body on the buzzer made it 2-0.
The Welsh teenager continued to go on the offensive and opened up a 5-1 lead heading into the final 30 seconds, closing out a stunning 6-4 victory.
Jones added: "I sang the national anthem and it was the best moment of my whole life. Amazing.
"I've seen this medal on pictures and seen other people get them. To finally have one round my neck, I still don't believe it. It's just crazy. Taekwondo is such a low-key sport that hopefully this will boost the profile.
"I will take a bit of time off first, get mentally sorted, then bring on Rio."
Team-mate Martin Stamper lost his semi-final against Turkey's world and European champion Servet Tazegul, 9-6 and lost out in the bronze medal match against Rohullah Nikpai of Afghanistan.
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I think you watched something different to what I watched? She did not 'insist' on the Welsh flag. Supporters in the stands threw her the Welsh flag and the Union Flag. She carried both. IMO it only helped to signify the fact that Wales is part of the union. Non issue.
Congrats Jade! =)
Well done Jade you've done Wales and Great Britain proud!!!!
Our Greatest Team
Where I'm from (the English side of the Shropshire / North Wales borders) it's all to common to see either/or and almost never both.
Well done Jade!
So you say taekwondo isn't a worthy sport just because the people at your local pub were too ignorant to figure out the rules
I have been watching taekwondo for the 1st time this olympics and while i'm not an expert, i'm getting a handle on the rules
Its worthy of a gold, especially when you consider her 1st fight was 10am and the final nearly 12 hours later
If look again closely she only picked up the flags that been thrown to her by the audience... she picked up two flags first the union jack then the Wales flag... with all the emotion and joy of winning gold boundary flag separation probably the last thing in her mind. Not a biggy.
As I saw it she ran around with a Union Jack AND a Welsh flag, so whats the issue?? She's just won a Gold Medal at the Olympics, at 19 years of age - GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK
She didn't "insist" on a separate Welsh flag - both were available for her to pick up from the crowd. Surely the whole point of Team GB is that one can take equal pride in being BOTH Welsh/Scottish/English/Northern Irish AND British. she certainly belted out the anthem too so I don't see her as making any Welsh nationalist statement as you seem to think. This is a non-issue...
I don't see any problem with the Welsh flag, she celebrated with both flags anyway, I'm an English Brit and I wouldn't have any problem if all GB athletes were to celebrate in the same way. As long as they have both flags what is the problem?
You're having a laugh, right? Have you nothing better to do with your time than trolling the BBC HYS comments sections?
Congratulations Jade - You've done the whole of Great Britain proud.
Your TV was obviously showing a different picture to mine.The one i was watching showed young Jade picking up both The Red Dragon and Union Flags which had been thrown to her