It has already proven a year to remember for Bianca Walkden and Mahama Cho, but they ensured 2017 wasn't to slow down any time soon with heavyweight World Grand Prix gold in Morocco.
Rio bronze medallist Walkden, who successfully defended her World Championships title earlier this year, has now claimed back to back World Grand Prix titles having triumphed in Moscow last month.
After defeating Karina Zhdanova of Russia and Turkey’s Nafia Kus to reach the semi-finals, 25-year-old Walkden easily dispatched Korea’s Saebom An 10-4 to book her berth in the final.
There she faced stiff opposition in the form of London 2012 Olympic champion Milica Mandic, but the Serbian posed little problem for the Brit.
Mandic had already eliminated her British teammate Jade Slavin in the quarter-finals, but Walkden made no mistake in the gold medal bout, prevailing 7-1 to take top spot on the podium.
“Four solid fights with the best of the best. Thank you everyone who supported me.”
The golden night wasn’t to end there for GB Taekwondo, however, with Rio 2016 Olympian Cho continuing his great success on the World Grand Prix stage.
In 2013, Cho became Britain’s first ever Grand Prix champion with victory in Manchester, and added another title to his haul with success in Rabat.
It wasn’t without a battle for the World Championship silver medallist though, taking his semi-final contest with South Korea’s Kyo-Don In to sudden death before surviving to win 17-15.
It was touch and go in the final too against Russian Roman Kuznetsov, but Cho proved the stronger of the two to clinch an 8-7 victory – finishing the night with a KO.
Sportsbeat 2017