Welsh teenager Lauren Williams defended her title but admitted the feeling was struggling to sink in as GB Taekwondo took their medal tally to six at the European Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Welsh teenager Lauren Williams defended her title but admitted the feeling was struggling to sink in as GB Taekwondo took their medal tally to six at the European Championships in Kazan, Russia.
The 19-year-old followed in the footsteps of Jade Jones and Christian McNeish to win Britain’s third gold medal on Saturday.
She defeated Turkey’s Nur Tatar 14-11 in the -67kg final, after beating Poland’s Anika Godel-Chelmecka 13-10 in the quarters and Italian Daniela Rotolo 26-14 in the semi-finals.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” the former junior world champion said. “I don’t know how to explain it, I’ve not even celebrated or enjoyed it as much as I can.
“I’m sure I’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll be buzzing. In the third fight, I picked up and injury in the second round and I had to just do what I could basically to get a win.
“Fortunately, I did so it wasn’t the best I ever performed but it did the job so I’m happy.
“I’m going to go out and I’ll probably celebrate at home, but I’m just going to enjoy some time with my family.” There was also success for team-mate Peter Radford, who won European bronze for his first ever major medal in the -74kg weight category.
He bettered Spain’s Daniel Quesada in the last 16 with a 12-8 win, before triumphing in his quarter-final against Dmitriy Artyukhov with a narrow 9-8 victory.
Radford was beaten 21-5 in the semi-finals by Croatian Toni Kanaet, but he had already secured his place on the podium by reaching the last four.
The medals for Williams and Radford followed Jones’ -57kg gold and McNeish’s -68kg title, while Bradly Siden and Jordyn Smith have also won bronze in Kazan.
Sportsbeat 2018