Two-time Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones launches boxing career

LONDON (AP) — Jade Jones, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo, is launching a career in boxing.

Jones took gold for Britain in 2012 and 2016 and competed in four Games, most recently in Paris last year.

But, at the age of 31, she has announced her move to boxing.

“The dream is to be a world champion. To be a world champion in two sports would be pretty cool," Jones told the BBC.

She will be trained by Stephen Smith, a former British and Commonwealth featherweight champion.

Jones competed in the 57-kilogram category, which would make her a featherweight in boxing.

She was 19 when she won Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold at London in 2012. She went on to successfully defend the title in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

Jones couldn't achieve a three-peat in Tokyo and last year she was eliminated in the first round in Paris.

“After 20 years of using my feet I am switching it up,” she said. “Boxing is good for me. It started as a distraction, but now I am going to go for it because I am just loving it.”

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer