Exuberant Welsh taekwondo star Jade Jones says she is not satisfied even after winning the inaugural European Games gold to add to her Olympic and Youth Olympic crowns in Baku on Wednesday, because she wants to be regarded as a legend.
The 22-year-old — who scrapped her way to a 12-9 victory over Croatian Ana Zaninovic in the -57 kilogrammes category — still provided the perfect riposte to her failure to get a medal at the world championships in Russia in May, although that was down to a scoring malfunction.
“It’s great to achieve so much at such a young age but I still have the world and European titles to win. I want to become a legend in my sport so I’m not done yet,” said Jones, who was giving Great Britain their third gold of the Games and second in taekwondo.
“I was distraught after the worlds and I did really well just to get back into training. I wanted this so much and all I kept telling myself was that I do not want to lose again,” added Jones, who led 5-0 at one point before allowing her opponent back into the combat.
Jones, who is one of the main attractions at the Games alongside two fellow 2012 Olympic champions — the boxing duo of British team-mate Nicola Adams and Irish superstar Katie Taylor — admitted that she still wasn’t at her best.
“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t fight at 100 per cent today,” said Jones, who has previously confessed she had lost the buzz after winning gold in London in 2012.
“I’ve still got a lot more work to do but when I needed it I really pulled it out of the bag. I feel so much better than I did at the worlds and I’ve improved a lot.”
However, Jones, who was overwhelmed when she arrived home in her tiny village of Bodelwyddan with the whole population of just over 2000 turning out to celebrate her Olympic triumph, said regardless of the overall performance, winning another title had given her a real thrill.
“I’m just buzzing after that to be honest,” said Jones.
“To get the Youth Olympic Games gold, the Olympic gold and now the European Games gold at such a young age is amazing.
“All through the day I haven’t felt my best and scraped through a couple of fights but I’m chuffed that I got through and I thought I fought a lot better in the final.”
For Jones, who was introduced to the sport aged eight by her grandfather Martin Foulkes, and took to it because she liked ‘all those flashy kicks’, it also meant she picked up crucial qualifying points for next year’s Olympics in Rio.
“After the disappointment of the world championships (last month), I hope this will get my confidence right up. Rio is just around the corner,” said Jones.
“I got 40 (qualification) points here and I just need a few more (at the) grand prix and then I can be selected for Rio.”