The prospect of pulling off “mission impossible” and becoming the first taekwondo athlete in history to win three Olympic gold medals has spurred Jade Jones to shrug off the painful memories of Tokyo and plot another ascent to the top of her sport.
Right back to the aftermath of her improbable first Olympic title as a teenager at London 2012, Jones has always been honest about her struggle to find the motivation to submit to the gruelling process of repeating her success through another Olympic cycle.
But one year from the opening of the Paris Olympics finds the 30-year-old Jones full of reasons to breathe new life into her taekwondo career, from making history to erasing an uncomfortable chapter in the Japanese capital that saw her surrender her title at the last-16 stage.
“The hunger is fully back with me,” Jones told the PA news agency. “Tokyo didn’t go well and I’ve since realised that my mind just wasn’t right but I quickly realised I didn’t want to leave my career like that – I wanted another shot at making sporting history.”
Jones’ shock loss to Refugee Team competitor Kimia Alizadeh left the Flint athlete close to tears and threatened to prove her swansong on the Olympic stage, as she openly admitted to experiencing anxiety and not enjoying a Games sanitised by small crowds and lingering lockdown regulations.
“There was so much expectation on me in the build-up to Tokyo because everyone expected me to go out there and get the third gold, and I went to Tokyo feeling that I had everything to lose,” added Jones.
“Everything was pressure. There was pressure on me as the athlete and there was all the pandemic stuff that meant I didn’t enjoy it.
“I’d grown so used to being cheered on in my big competitions by friends and family, and to have no spectators there just made it a really strange experience. The whole thing just made it feel like it wasn’t happening for me out there, and it wasn’t meant to be.”
Jones returned home to inevitable questions about her future and took an extended break from competition, returning to take bronze at the 2022 World Championships in Guadalajara.
After falling in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Championships to Taipei’s Lo Chia-ling in Baku in May, Jones rebounded the following month, underscoring her commitment to the Paris process by winning her second European Games gold medal in Krakow.
It was a timely triumph for Jones, who must see off her domestic rival, the three-time world bronze medallist Aaliyah Powell, to secure the solitary -57kg squad on Great Britain’s Olympic team, before she can even think about overcoming the weight of her sport’s history.
A number of athletes have won two Olympic gold medals, but even the seemingly invincible American Steven Lopez fell short of an historic third in Beijing in 2008, when he had to settle for bronze after a controversial judging call in his semi-final against Italy’s Mauro Sarmiento.
“No-one has won three Olympic gold medals in taekwondo,” added Jones. “It’s been mission impossible so far, and that’s why no-one has managed to do it.
“But I believe I can be the person to do it and I will leave everything out there. Now that I’m older and after what happened in Tokyo, it’s not expected of me so much. People are starting to write me off. Deep down that gives me more hunger because I feel like I have something to prove again.”
Jamaica's veteran coach Glen Mills praised for inspiring coaching seminar in France
Renowned Jamaican coach Glen Mills, who has spent more than five decades shaping some of the world’s fastest sprinters, has been lauded by French track and field coach Yann Edu for the impactful athletic coaching seminar he conducted in Nanterre, France, shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Mills, 74, is a legendary figure in the world of athletics, having guided numerous athletes to global success. Among his most notable accomplishments is coaching Usain Bolt to three consecutive Olympic golds in the 100m and 200m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics, and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Under Mills’ tutelage, Bolt also set world records in both events at the 2009 Berlin World Championships—records that still stand 15 years later.
In addition to Bolt, Mills has also coached other elite sprinters, including Yohan Blake, who became the second-fastest man in history with times of 9.69 seconds in the 100m and 19.26 seconds in the 200m, and Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis, who won gold in the 100m at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.
The seminar in Nanterre, which took place on August 12, was part of the first initiatives under the official City Twinning agreement between Nanterre, France, and Spanish Town, Jamaica. This agreement, signed on the margins of the Paris Olympics, aims to foster cultural and athletic exchange between the two cities. The signing was officiated by Mayor of Spanish Town, Councillor Norman Scott, and his counterpart in Nanterre, Raphael Adam, during a ceremony coinciding with Jamaica Day celebrations in Nanterre.
Yann Edu, a track and field coach based in Nanterre, expressed his deep appreciation for the seminar, highlighting the invaluable insights he gained from Mills' vast experience. "It was very nice to see coach Mills. I benefited from his experience, and nobody runs faster than his athletes, so obviously it was a big opportunity for us to meet him and to learn from him," Edu said during an interview conducted by officials from Jamaica's Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport (MCGES).
The seminar provided French coaches and athletes with a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest minds in track and field coaching. Mills shared his expertise on training methodologies, athlete management, and the nuances of sprinting techniques that have led his athletes to extraordinary success on the world stage.
Mills' influence on the sport of athletics is undeniable. He holds the distinction of coaching both the fastest and second-fastest men in history—Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, respectively. His ability to develop athletes to reach their maximum potential has made him a revered figure in the sport, not only in Jamaica but globally.
T&T's Paul through to Keirin quarterfinals; compatriot Browne, Suriname's Tjon En Fa miss out
Trinidad and Tobago's standout cyclist Nicholas Paul produced a spectacular performance to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the men's Keirin competition at the Paris Olympic Games on Saturday.
Paul, won heat five in tidy fashion to continue his hunt for an Olympic medal in the competition, which will conclude on Sunday, August 11.
Another Trinidad and Tobago representative, Kwesi Browne, finished third in heat four and failed to progress. He was given a second chance through the repechage round, but that race also ended in disappointment as he fell during the final lap and did not finish.
Meanwhile, Suriname's Jair Tjon En Fa also failed to make the most of his second chance in the repechage round, as he finished fourth in repechage heat three and failed to progress to the quarterfinals. He initially placed fourth in heat one of the preliminary round.
Brazil 0-1 United States: Swanson fires Stars and Stripes to record-extending fifth Olympic gold
Mallory Swanson marked her 100th cap with the winning goal as the United States defeated Brazil 1-0 to win a record-extending fifth Olympic gold medal in women's football.
Two-time runners-up Brazil were seeking their first gold and thought they had taken the lead early on at the Parc des Princes, only for Ludmila's strike to be rightly ruled out for offside.
Swanson used her pace to break clear soon after but was unable to get the better of Lorena, with neither side truly going close to finding a breakthrough in the first half.
The Selecao suffered a blow early in the second period when Vitoria Yaya was forced off the field on a stretcher and their outing soon got worse when Swanson fired home.
Chicago Red Stars forward Swanson held her line well, latched on to Korbin Albert's throughball and calmly slotted past Lorena with 57 minutes on the clock in Paris.
Brazil could have taken a game of few clear-cut chances to extra-time, but an unmarked Adriana saw her header kept out by Alyssa Naeher in stoppage time as Emma Hayes' team claimed gold.
Data Debrief: Swanson the golden girl for USA
Swanson was denied a dramatic goal on her 99th cap for the USA in their 1-0 extra-time win over Mexico in the semis, but she marked her century in the perfect manner as she scored for the fourth time this tournament.
The 26-year-old is the 44th player in USWNT history to reach that milestone and is the youngest since Amy Rodriguez (25) did so in 2012.
The USA's fifth Olympic gold, coming 12 years after their last success in London, takes them four clear of Germany, Canada and Norway as comfortably the most successful side in the competition.
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