Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush win historic taekwondo golds for Team GB

Amy Truesdale and Matt Bush wrote their names into the history books by grabbing Great Britain’s maiden Paralympic taekwondo golds on a milestone evening in Paris.Truesdale triumphed in the women’s K44 +65kg event when defending champion Guljonoy Naimova was dramatically stretchered out of the final.With the Briton dominating and leading 8-2, the Uzbekistani fighter stayed down following a kick to the throat before withdrawing from the contest with just over a minute remaining.It’s GOOOOOOOOOOOLD for @amytruesdale1 in the Grand Palais!Scenes at the Para taekwondo in Paris! YES AMY!#ParalympicsGB???? pic.twitter.com/jPa2xavYtn— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) August 31, 2024Welshman Bush backed up his team-mate’s landmark success by beating Russian Aliaskhab Ramazanov 5-0 in the showpiece match of the men’s K44 +80kg event.Chester-born Truesdale faced an anxious wait to discover her fate after her rival departed in distress before jubilantly performing the splits in the centre of the octagon following the referee’s decision.Victory for the 35-year-old significantly upgraded the bronze she won on the sport’s Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020.Naimova defeated Truesdale in the semi-finals en route to glory in Japan and was backed by the drums and coordinated claps of passionate Uzbeki fans who had turned out in force amid the splendour of the Grand Palais.