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Olympic Champion Jade Jones to lead GB in the WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix

Olympic champion Jade Jones is set to take on the world’s top Taekwondo athletes in front of her home crowd in Manchester.

Jones leads the Great Britain challenge in the WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix at Manchester Central on 24 and 25 October.

The Manchester leg will attract the world’s top 250 athletes across eight weight categories, and carries vital ranking points as part of the qualification process for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

Speaking of the event, Jade said: “At the halfway point between London and Rio, I’m in a really good place physically and mentally. There’s still a lot more to come from me and I’m confident looking ahead to Rio.

“I’m really looking forward to the Grand Prix in Manchester. I love performing in the UK and it means a lot to the whole GB team, particularly as we’re based here. It’s a great opportunity for sports fans to come and see us in action. All my friends and family come and watch me when I’m competing in the UK as well and I perform better when they’re there – I feel really motivated and fight harder in front of them.”

Jade became Britain’s first Olympic Taekwondo gold medallist with her victory in the -57 kg category in London in 2012.

She will be hoping it is a case of third time lucky in the Grand Prix series which is staged in four countries during the year.

At the inaugural GP in Manchester in December 2013, she lost in the final to Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez, who also came out on top in Kazakhstan in August.

Jones also missed out on a medal in the opening round in China in July, leaving Manchester and Mexico in December 2014 as her only opportunities to secure the Grand Prix gold.

Tickets for the WTF World Grand Prix in Manchester are now available from just £10 for adults and £5 for juniors from here.