Jade Jones (taekwondo)

Welsh taekwondo athlete (born 1993)

Jade Jones

OBE

Jones at the 2016 Olympics

Personal information
Nickname| The Headhunter[1]
Born|  (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 (age 31)
Bodelwyddan, Wales
Height| 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Weight| 57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country|  Great Britain
Sport| Taekwondo
Event|  –57 kg
Club| GB Academy
Team| GBR
Turned pro| 2010
Coached by| Martin Stamper

Medal record

Women's taekwondo
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
| 2012 London | 57 kg
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 57 kg
World Championships
| 2019 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2011 Gyeongju | 57 kg
| 2017 Muju | 57 kg
| 2022 Guadalajara | 57 kg
Grand Prix
| 2014 Querétaro (F) | 57 kg
| 2015 Samsun | 57 kg
| 2015 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2016 Baku (F) | 57 kg
| 2017 London | 57 kg
| 2017 Abidjan (F) | 57 kg
| 2018 Rome | 57 kg
| 2018 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2023 Rome | 57 kg
| 2023 Paris | 57 kg
| 2013 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2014 Astana | 57 kg
| 2014 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2015 Moscow | 57 kg
| 2017 Rabat | 57 kg
| 2022 Rome | 57 kg
| 2022 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2015 Mexico City (F) | 57 kg
European Games
| 2015 Baku | 57 kg
| 2023 Kraków-Małopolska | 57 kg
European Championships
| 2016 Montreux | 57 kg
| 2018 Kazan | 57 kg
| 2021 Sofia | 57 kg
| 2014 Baku | 57 kg
| 2024 Belgrade | 57 kg
| 2010 St. Petersburg | 53 kg
| 2012 Manchester | 57 kg
| 2022 Manchester | 57 kg
Youth Olympic Games
|  2010 Singapore | 55 kg
World Junior Championships
| 2010 Tijuana | 57 kg

Updated on 18 April 2020

Jade Louise Jones OBE (born 21 March 1993) is a Welsh taekwondo athlete. She is the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist in the women's 57 kg category, and the 2019 World champion, 2016, 2018 and 2021 European champion and both 2015 European Games and 2023 European Games champion at the same weight, the only double gold medalist at her weight in the history of those Games. In 2012, she won Britain's first taekwondo Olympic gold medal.[3] Jones was at the time the reigning Youth Olympic champion in the girls' 55 kg category, winning gold for Great Britain in 2010.

## Career history

[edit]

Jones was born in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, Wales.[4][5] She attended Flint High School leaving aged 16 to take up taekwondo full-time.[6] As of 2012[update], Jones was 1.69 metres (5 ft 7 in) tall and weighed 57 kilograms (126 lb).[5] She competes as part of the GB Taekwondo Academy, which is based in Manchester.

In 2010 Jones won a bronze medal at the 2010 European Taekwondo Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[7] Jones competed for Great Britain at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore; she beat Vietnam's Thanh Thao Nguyen 9–6 in the 55 kg category final to become Great Britain's first gold medallist at the Games.[8][9] She was named BBC Cymru Wales Junior Sportswoman of the Year 2010.[10] She is nicknamed "The Headhunter" because she prefers to try to score points from her opponent's head rather than their body as successful kicks to the head are awarded more points than successful kicks to the body.[1]

Jones won her first senior title at the US Open in Austin, Texas in February 2011. She won gold in the −62 kg division having won bronze in the −57 kg competition the previous day.[11] At the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships in Gyeongju, South Korea Jones advanced to the final of the 57 kg event after beating Marlène Harnois of France in the semi-finals. She won the silver medal after losing to China's Hou Yuzhuo in a sudden-death round.[12] In October 2011 Jones won a gold medal at the British Open in Manchester by defeating Harnois 10–8 in the final.[13] At the French Open she won a bronze medal after losing to Harnois in the semi-finals.[14]

At the German Open held in Hamburg in March 2012 Jones won a silver medal losing to China's Yun Wang in the final.[15][16] In May 2012 she won a bronze medal at the 2012 European Taekwondo Championships in Manchester.[17]

Jones was selected to compete for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's 57 kg weight category.[18] In the games Jones beat Chinese Taipei's top seed Tseng Li-Cheng in the semi-finals after having beaten Japan's Mayu Hamada in the quarter-finals and Serbia's Dragana Gladović in her first bout.[19] In the final on 9 August 2012. she beat Hou Yuzhuo of China 6 points to 4 to become the first Briton to win a taekwondo gold medal.[20]

Jones narrowly lost 10–9 to Iranian Kimia Alizadeh at the quarter-finals stage of the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships in Russia on 17 May 2015. The result was controversial, as the electronic scoring system crashed during the bout.[citation needed] At the 2016 Olympic Games, Jones again won the gold medal, beating Spain's Eva Calvo, by 16–7 in the final.[21]

Jones was knocked out in the first round during the 2020 Olympic Games.[22]

She won one of the bronze medals in the women's featherweight event at the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In December 2023, Jones was provisionally suspended after failing to supply a urine sample when requested by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD). However, she was cleared to resume competition in July 2024, when UKAD ruled that confidential medical records showed Jones bore "no fault or negligence for her refusal or failure to submit to her sample collection" and stated it was satisfied not to punish Jones on the "very exceptional circumstances".[23][24][25]

Jones was selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris[26][27] but went out in the first round, losing to Miljana Reljiḱ from North Macedonia.[28][29] She was competing to become the first three-time Olympic champion in the sport's history before her defeat.[30]

## Personal life

[edit]

Jones won the public vote for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2012.[31] She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to taekwondo[32][33] and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to taekwondo and sport.[34][35]

Jade was introduced to taekwondo by her grandfather when he saw her misbehaving at age 8. She lives with a roommate, Bianca Walkden, a fellow Olympic taekwondo competitor. The two are training partners, along with Walkden's partner, another Olympic taekwondo fighter, Aaron Cook.[36]

## See also

[edit]

* 2012 Olympics gold post boxes in the United Kingdom
* List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Jade Jones celebrates Olympic Taekwondo gold". bbc.co.uk. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
2. ^ Jade Jones Archived 26 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
3. ^ "Jade Jones gives Britain first taekwondo gold". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
4. ^ "Jade Jones: Taekwondo gold medal joy for Olympian" BBC News Wales, 10 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012
5. ^ a b "Jade Jones: Team GB". British Olympic Association. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
6. ^ "Teenage kicks! Ecstatic Jade Jones takes Britain's first Taekwondo gold". www.standard.co.uk. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
7. ^ Griffiths, Gareth (4 June 2012). "Jade Jones going for gold medal at 2012 Olympics". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
8. ^ "Jade Jones wins Britain's first Youth Olympics gold". BBC Sport. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
9. ^ Williams, Bob (23 December 2010). "Jade Jones named British Olympic Association taekwondo athlete of the year". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
10. ^ Williams, Bob (7 December 2010). "Jade Jones wins BBC Cymru Wales Junior Sportswoman of the Year 2010". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
11. ^ Hope, Nick (21 February 2011). "Youth Olympian Jade Jones claims first senior title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
12. ^ Hope, Nick (4 May 2011). "Jade Jones wins World Championship silver medal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
13. ^ Hope, Nick (1 October 2011). "Triple gold medal for GB at British Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
14. ^ "Jade Jones takes taekwondo bronze at French Open". BBC Sport. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
15. ^ Hope, Nick (5 March 2012). "London 2012: Damon Sansum wins taekwondo gold in Germany". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
16. ^ "Taekwondo: Jade Jones claims silver in German Open". www.walesonline.co.uk. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
17. ^ "Taekwondo: Jade Jones bags bronze in European Championships". Wales Online. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
18. ^ "London 2012: Sarah Stevenson leads GB taekwondo team". BBC Sport. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
19. ^ "Wales' Jade Jones to bid for taekwondo gold at London 2012". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
20. ^ "Jade Jones wins Olympic taekwondo gold for Great Britain". BBC Sport. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
21. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Jade Jones retains −57kg taekwondo title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
22. ^ Ronay, Barney (25 July 2021). "'Absolutely gutted': Britain's Jade Jones laments shock Olympic taekwondo exit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
23. ^ "Jones avoids ban because of 'exceptional circumstances'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
24. ^ "Jade Jones avoids ban over no-fault doping violation". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
25. ^ "Jade Jones avoids ban over no-fault doping violation". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
26. ^ "Bianca Cook misses out on Team GB Olympic taekwondo place as Jade Jones targets third gold". The Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
27. ^ "Jones to chase third Olympic gold but Cook misses out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
28. ^ "Olympics 2024: Jade Jones beaten in taekwondo knockouts". ESPN. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
29. ^ "Jade Jones left on knees after shock first-round defeat and Olympic gold dream over". Wales Online. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
30. ^ Zeqiri, Daniel; Briggs, Simon; Corrigan, James; Morgan, Tom (8 August 2024). "Paris Olympics 2024 live: Jade Jones slips to shock defeat in taekwondo". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
31. ^ "Welsh Sports Personality of the Year 2012: Jade Jones triumphs". bbc.co.uk. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
32. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 25.
33. ^ "2013 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2012.
34. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N13.
35. ^ "Jones and Dykes to receive New Year honours". BBC Sport.
36. ^ "What makes double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones tick?". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jade Jones.

* Jade Jones on Instagram
* Jade Jones profile at World Taekwondo
* Jade Jones ranking at World Taekwondo
* Jade Jones at TaekwondoData.com
* Jade Jones at Olympics.com
* Jade Jones at Olympedia
* Jade Jones at Team GB
* Jade Jones at the Baku 2015 European Games (archived)

* v
* t
* e

World Champions in Taekwondo – Women's Featherweight

* 1987:  Kim So-young (KOR)
* 1989:  Kim So-young (KOR)
* 1991:  Tung Ya-ling (TPE)
* 1993:  Lee Seung-min (KOR)
* 1995:  Lee Seung-min (KOR)
* 1997:  Jung Jae-eun (KOR)
* 1999:  Kang Hae-eun (KOR)
* 2001:  Jang Ji-won (KOR)
* 2003:  Areti Athanasopoulou (GRE)
* 2005:  Diana López (USA)
* 2007:  Lee Sung-hye (KOR)
* 2009:  Hou Yuzhuo (CHN)
* 2011:  Hou Yuzhuo (CHN)
* 2013:  Kim So-hee (KOR)
* 2015:  Mayu Hamada (JPN)
* 2017:  Lee Ah-reum (KOR)
* 2019:  Jade Jones (GBR)
* 2022:  Luo Zongshi (CHN)
* 2023:  Luana Márton (HUN)

* 1987–1997: −55 kg
* 1999–2007: −59 kg
* 2009–present: −57 kg

* v
* t
* e

Olympic Champions in Taekwondo — Women's Featherweight (57 kg)

* 2000: Jung Jae-eun (KOR)
* 2004: Jang Ji-won (KOR)
* 2008: Lim Su-jeong (KOR)
* 2012: Jade Jones (GBR)
* 2016: Jade Jones (GBR)
* 2020: Anastasija Zolotic (USA)
* 2024: Kim Yu-jin (KOR)

* v
* t
* e

BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year

* 1954 Ken Jones
* 1955 John Disley
* 1956 Joe Erskine
* 1957 Dai Rees
* 1958 Howard Winstone
* 1959 Graham Moore
* 1960 Brian Curvis
* 1961 Bryn Meredith
* 1962 Ivor Allchurch
* 1963 Howard Winstone
* 1964 Lynn Davies
* 1965 Clive Rowlands
* 1966 Lynn Davies
* 1967 Howard Winstone
* 1968 Martyn Woodroffe
* 1969 Tony Lewis
* 1970 David Broome
* 1971 John Dawes, the Wales national rugby union team & the Welsh Lions
* 1972 Richard Meade
* 1973 Berwyn Price
* 1974 Gareth Edwards
* 1975 Arfon Griffiths
* 1976 Mervyn Davies & the Wales national rugby union team
* 1977 Phil Bennett
* 1978 Johnny Owen
* 1979 Terry Griffiths
* 1980 Duncan Evans
* 1981 John Toshack
* 1982 Steve Barry
* 1983 Colin Jones
* 1984 Ian Rush
* 1985 Steve Jones
* 1986 Kirsty Wade
* 1987 Ian Woosnam
* 1988 Colin Jackson
* 1989 Stephen Dodd
* 1990 Ian Woosnam
* 1991 Ian Woosnam
* 1992 Tanni Grey
* 1993 Colin Jackson
* 1994 Steve Robinson
* 1995 Neville Southall
* 1996 Ryan Giggs
* 1997 Scott Gibbs
* 1998 Iwan Thomas
* 1999 Colin Jackson
* 2000 Tanni Grey-Thompson
* 2001 Joe Calzaghe
* 2002 Mark Hughes
* 2003 Nicole Cooke
* 2004 Tanni Grey-Thompson
* 2005 Gareth Thomas
* 2006 Joe Calzaghe
* 2007 Joe Calzaghe
* 2008 Shane Williams
* 2009 Ryan Giggs
* 2010 Gareth Bale
* 2011 Chaz Davies
* 2012 Jade Jones
* 2013 Leigh Halfpenny
* 2014 Geraint Thomas
* 2015 Dan Biggar
* 2016 Jade Jones
* 2017 Jonathan Davies
* 2018 Geraint Thomas
* 2019 Alun Wyn Jones
* 2020 No award
* 2021 Lauren Price
* 2022 Olivia Breen
* 2023 Emma Finucane

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[KOR]: South Korea
*[TPE]: Chinese Taipei
*[GRE]: Greece
*[USA]: United States
*[CHN]: China
*[JPN]: Japan
*[GBR]: Great Britain
*[HUN]: Hungary