Truesdale makes history with GB's first Paralympic taekwondo gold

By Tom Harle at Grand Palais

Amy Truesdale could not contain her joy as she made history with Paralympic taekwondo gold.

After dominating the final of the women’s +65kg category, Truesdale danced a jig and then did the splits as she took the Parisian crowd into the palm of her hand.

The 35-year-old’s victory saw her claim ParalympicsGB’s first-ever gold in taekwondo and became the maiden fighter to hold Paralympic, world and European titles concurrently.

“It’s the last medal I needed to complete my career,” she said, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with ParalympicsGB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.

“I'm the Paralympic champion and I’ve made history. I am so grateful for the support.

“I had three hard fights. People who know me know that after Tokyo, the hardest fight is the one that I have every day in my mind and I smashed that so I’m grateful that was the fight that I won.”

Perhaps Truesdale’s celebration was designed to drown out the jangle of nerves.

She could not have been more dominant in reaching the final with 30-9 and 26-13 wins in the quarter and semi-finals.

Truesdale had far too much for Guljonoy Naimova in the final but there was late drama after one of her kicks unwittingly caught the Uzbek in the throat.

Naimova needed to be stretchered off the mat and Truesdale would have been disqualified had the move been deemed intentional, but judges ruled in her favour after a nervy wait.

“I was quite anxious, to be honest,” said Truesdale.

“I was so calm and collected all day but it got to the point where I was asking my coach, ‘please can we just ask for a video replay so we can see it wasn’t intentional.’

“Luckily the decision went in my favour to prove that it was just an accident.”

Truesdale has been on a tear since settling for bronze in Tokyo, loading all of her emotion into this outcome showing plenty of emotion on the mat and during the medal ceremony.

“It’s just the sacrifices you make,” she said. “This hasn’t been three or four years for me, it has been 27 years of my life, I haven’t put my focus into anything else.

“Sometimes you think, is it worth it? And, obviously with this, it’s definitely worth it and I hope I have inspired people.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.