Sports Awards: Truesdale targets Olympic glory

Sports Awards

AMY Truesdale is bidding to be one of the first taekwondo fighters with a disability to taste Olympic glory.

The 20-year-old Stoke United Taekwondo Association (UTA) member, pictured, clinched a bronze medal at the first World Para-Taekwondo Championships, which were held recently in Azerbaijan.

The world taekwondo authorities are hopeful their discipline, which is already an Olympic sport, will be included in the parallel tournament at London 2012.

Truesdale usually tackles able-bodied fighters, despite being born with part of her left arm missing.

But coach Peter Johnson helped fund the £1,500 cost of the long trip east, so the shoe shop worker could take part in a competition for disabled fighters for the first time.

Johnson, who has nominated Truesdale in the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Personality of the Year Awards, in the senior individual category, said: "Amy wants to compete at the Olympics and the Paralympics if she can.

"She can still fight in the able-bodied category, but this event was organised to trial the idea of taekwondo being in the Paralympics.

"Taekwondo could be included in the 2012 Paralympics, but if not then certainly by 2016, in Brazil." Truesdale will be hoping to impress at the first European Para-Taekwondo Championships in St Petersburg, Russia, in May.

In able-bodied events, her achievements this year include winning a bronze at the British Taekwondo Control Board National Championships, in Manchester, while in recent years she became triple world champion at the Open World Championships, in Birmingham.

Johnson says his pupil's success is not only down to being an outstanding athlete, but also to the dedication which sees her make a two-hour round trip from her Chester home for training sessions in Cobridge.

And he has pledged to support her Olympic bid by securing new electronic scoring equipment for her to practice with.

"They'd replaced the manual scoring system at the para event and that caught us out," admitted Johnson.

"The fighters were wearing electronic body protectors which register when they are kicked.

"Those who'd trained with the technology certainly had an advantage.

"If you'd watched Amy's semi-final fight (against eventual winner, France's Prescillia Schiel Laura), you wouldn't have understood why she lost, as she landed so many kicks on her opponent."

Truesdale took up the World Taekwondo Federation version of taekwondo with Stoke UTA as a 14-year-old, with the Olympics in mind.

And Johnson said: "We've had people with disabilities at the club, but we've never had anyone with a disability like Amy.

"But it doesn't affect her at all. Taekwondo is the ideal sport for her because her flexibility is fantastic and it's mostly about legs.

"She's a brilliant trainer and is a really level-headed person.

"The only problem we've got is funding her.

"The trip to Azerbaijan was costly and the scoring equipment will set us back more than £400."

GWYN GRIFFITHS