ABOVE: Jade Jones in a flirty full-skirt
dress from French Connection
Everyone used to laugh because I rarely went to the
body and nearly always kicked to the head
Jade Jones
SHE might look all
sweetness and smiles in these sparkly frocks.
But fighting champ Jade
Jones is about to kick her way to Olympic victory.
All eyes will be on the
Team GB ace today when she goes for gold in the taekwondo competion.
The 19-year-old from
Flint, north Wales, stands on the brink of making Olympic history.
Unlike many events, which
see qualification heats spread out over the days leading up to a final, her fate
will be decided in one day alone.
It might be nerve-racking
but this young beauty can’t
wait to show the world what she can do.
Jade, who competes in the
under-57kg category, says: “I’ve studied near enough every single potential
opponent.
“The support has been
absolutely overwhelming. I’m just going to go there and do my best and it’s just
nice knowing everyone is so much behind me.”
Jade showed her potential
as an Olympic star by bagging silver at last year’s World Championships, but all
eyes are on her to better than at London 2012. “This is the one I really want to
do well in – it’s the big one,” she says.
Taekwondo can be tough and
Jade has fought hard to get to her position at a young age.
But on our exclusive Daily
Star photoshoot she is softly spoken, graceful and girly – not what you’d expect
from someone nicknamed “The Headhunter” because of her aggressive style.
She giggles: “Everyone
used to laugh because I rarely went to the body and
nearly always kicked to the head.”
Jade has been fighting
since she was eight and from an early age showed signs of becoming a star.
“My grandad introduced me
to taekwondo to get me off the streets,” she explains.
“There wasn’t a lot to do
in my town and he wanted me to be able to defend myself. I started getting into
a bit of trouble and was messing around.
“It was nothing too
serious. I was just mischievous.
“At 15 I realised I was
quite good and started dreaming of competing professionally.
“I’ve had my sights set on
the Olympics ever since.”
Jade already knows what
it’s like to win big and is determined to take this week’s competition in her
stride.
She grins: “I know it
sounds mad but I near enough win every competition.
“In 2010, it was the first
ever Youth Olympics in Singapore and I won gold. That’s been my best achievement
so far.”
Weird
As for her preparation
before the fight, she
reveals: “Everyone has a few little quirks in their preparation – I just tend to
do the same sort of things as I did in previous competitions.
“But there’s nothing too
weird, like sticking with lucky knickers or socks. For instance, I’ll see my
family the day before a fight but won’t see them on the day.
“I’ve got an eating plan
that I’ll eat the exact things that I’ve eaten before.
“I just like to have
cereal in the morning, but it’ll be those cluster things – it’s a bit random –
and through the day I like just pasta, plain pasta with a bit of sauce on it,
never too much in case I get a bad belly.
“I’ll have jelly just
before I go on for a bit of energy.
“We’re all knuckling down
now and our team is very
close and we all stick together, it’s just about going in there to do the job
now.”