Sarah Stevenson Takes Gold

The first day of the 2009 British Championships saw some scintillating action as the world’s top taekwondo athletes arrived at the Manchester Regional Arena for the ETU A Class event. With Sarah Stevenson taking gold and Tyrone Robinson picking up a bronze, it was a successful start for a strong Team GB.

Doncaster-born Stevenson showed that she was back to her medal winning best in the -73kg female final, winning 9-2 against Spanish opponent Sandra Rodelas Lorenzo, having missed last year’s inaugural event through injury. Sarah said, “My ankle feels fine now and I’ve been fit and training for a while. I’m really happy that my return to major competition has been successful and I feel really good after that final.

“The first couple of matches were more difficult and I couldn’t quite get going. With the new electronic scoring pads, it is a bit harder to score and we all need to adjust our technique slightly. The most important thing is to make the sport as fair as possible”

Tyrone Robinson (Mansfield) achieved a podium finish in Manchester, picking up a bronze after losing out in the semi finals of the -58kg to Germany’s 2008 European Champion, Levent Tuncat. Aaron Cook was also in action, unfortunately losing out to Korean, Kim Jae Hak, in the final second of their encounter.

Andrew Link, Operations Director of Sport Taekwondo UK and Chairman of the ETU A-class committee said, “It was a great first day’s action and hopefully tomorrow’s weight categories will provide equally entertaining competition. The number of international teams that have made the journey to Manchester really make for an exciting and competitive Championships and we are proud to be hosting such a major tournament in the UK once again.”

The 2009 British International Taekwondo Championships gives athletes from over 30 national teams competing, the chance to gain vital match practice with the new electronic scoring system which will be in use in October’s World Championships.