Home town hour for Doncaster’s Olympic pride

And now Doncaster-born taekwondo star Sarah Stevenson has become just the twelfth person to given the freedom of her home borough.

Stevenson became Junior World Taekwondo Champion in 1998 at the age of 13 and two years later, became Senior World Champion, the start of a ream of titles.

At just 17, she was the first woman to represent the Great Britain Taekwondo Team at the Olympic Games in Sydney, and went on to compete at Athens and Beijing, where she won bronze.

She led the GB Taekwondo Team at the London 2012 Olympics, where she also had the honour of reading out the athlete oath at the opening ceremony.

She now coaches future Olympic taekwondo stars in Manchester, but often gets back to her hometown. Yesterday she was presented with a hand painted scroll at a special ceremony surrounded by family and friends.

She said: “I’ve won medals and been to the Olympics but when you get honoured with something like this it is something really special. When I started out at seven years old it was for the love of the sport, it’s only when you get to a certain age you realise what you have done and that you inspire others.”

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “Sarah’s speech was incredibly moving as she spoke about the important people in her life who have supported her throughout her career, paying tribute to her late parents. Sarah is a true ambassador for Doncaster.”