By Hannah Blackwell
The confirmation that Jade Jones and Lauren Williams are off to the Tokyo Olympics as part of the Great Britain taekwondo squad is part of a significant shift in women’s sport, says Team GB chief Mark England.
Double Olympic champion Jones and fellow Welsh star Williams have been rubber-stamped for selection by the British Olympic Association as part of a five-strong taekwondo team for the Games.
There’s no surprise Jones and former European champion Williams are off to Japan, but England – the Team GB Chef de Mission – insists the pair are part of an increasing female domination of Team GB.
“As we move ever closer to qualifying more female than male athletes for the Games for the first time, it is fantastic to name three very strong and experienced female athletes within this team,” said England.
“The blend of returning Olympians and debutants is very exciting and we have no doubt that they will inspire a new generation of boys and girls from Tokyo this summer.
“This is an extremely strong team; a double Olympic champion, an Olympic bronze medallist and a triple world and European champion – amongst various junior and European titles – is extremely impressive and demonstrates the strength of talent this sport has.”
Double Olympic champion Jones and Williams are named beside returning Olympians Bianca Walkden and Mahama Cho and debutant Bradly Sinden.
Jones made history by becoming Great Britain’s first ever taekwondo athlete to win gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games before going on to become a double Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games four years later.
The Welsh -57kg fighter has become one of Team GB’s most acclaimed female athletes and her medal success has only continued in recent years. Jones claimed the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships and took the European crown for a third time in April this year.
Williams switched from kickboxing to taekwondo after being inspired by teammate Jones at London 2012.
The Welsh-born -67kg category fighter struck gold at the European Championships in 2016 and in the same year was selected as a reserve for Rio 2016.
In 2019 Williams won her third consecutive European Championship gold medal and recently claimed silver in the 2021 edition of the event.
GB Taekwondo Performance Director, Gary Hall said: “It is the largest number of athletes that we have ever qualified.
“With the Games in Rio we sent four in total, but this is the first time that we’ve had the entire group qualify via world rankings only.
“Within the team, we have three world champions (Bianca Walkden, Jade Jones and Bradly Sinden) along with two other fighters (Mahama Cho and Lauren Williams) who are currently ranked in the top six of the world and have significant medal success under their belts.”