Double Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones (-57 kg) will compete in her fourth Olympic Games for Team GB this summer, after being named by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as part of the taekwondo team of four that will travel to Paris.

The 31-year-old is now set to equal Sarah Stevenson’s record of competing at four Olympic Games for Team GB in taekwondo, as she pursues an unprecedented third Olympic gold medal in Paris. Jones’ Olympic journey began at London 2012, becoming Team GB’s first-ever Olympic taekwondo Champion, aged just 19, before retaining her title four years later at Rio 2016.

According to Jones this time she feels extra special, almost like the very first again when she was 19.

"This will be my fourth Olympic Games, fifth including the Youth Olympics. People don’t understand how hard it is to even quality for an Olympics, so I am super proud and can’t wait to fight my heart out for GB and myself once again," told Jones Team GB' official website. 

Also returning to Team GB is double World Champion Bradly Sinden (-68 kg) , whose silver medal at Tokyo 2020 made him only the second British male to claim one since the sport was introduced to the Games in 2000. The 25-year-old from Doncaster became Britain’s first-ever male World Champion in 2019 and captured another world title last year.

European Champions Caden Cunningham and Rebecca McGowan complete the squad, with both heavyweights set to compete at the Games for the first time. 

Cunningham, 21, from Huddersfield, who is also a part-time fashion model, became European Champion for the first-time last month, and won a gold medal at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in June last year.

McGowan, 24, from Dumbarton, initially began taekwondo aged six as a way to battle her best friend and is also a two-time World Championship medallist, winning a bronze medal in 2022, and silver in 2023.

McGowan's place was the only one in doubt. Two-time Olympic bronze medallist and three-time world champion Bianca Cook (née Walden) was also highly ranked (just three places behind McGowan) and hoping to compete in her third Olympics. 

Both McGowan and Cook finished on the podium at the 2023 World Championships. McGowan took bronze in the -73 kg category, while Cook was third in the +73 kg category. But taekwondo at the Olympics only has a +67 kg category, and McGowan and Cook had to fight for the one spot. 

The two athletes battled it out at the 2022 WT Grand Prix Finals and Cook came out on top, but at the 2023 WT Grand Prix Finals Cook was knocked out in the quarter-finals while McGowan reached the final. Cook went on to represent the Isle of Man at the 2024 European Championships, fighting for a place on Team GB. But she was again eliminated in the quarter-finals, while McGowan won bronze for England. 

In the interview to BBC, Cook told that she felt "let down" and that she believed she had deserved a fight-off for the Olympic spot. She had been world number one for seven years, until mid-2023, when she had to miss several tournaments due to injury. 

"It feels like a massive loss, like grieving, because I’m just absolutely devastated," Cook told BBC Sport.

"I didn’t expect to just be selected, I wanted to earn that place and I thought that after dominating for so many years and the history that I've achieved for the sport I deserved a fight-off.

"Paris was always going to be my last Olympics and I know in my heart I was capable of turning those shiny [bronze] medals into a nice gold one, so I'm devastated because it feels like my journey has been cut short.

Cook said she had won several medals since recovering from her injuries, and although she hadn't consistently won the gold medals she used to, the Olympics were all about mentality.

"I believe I'm still mentally tough for this sport and thought I'd have this one last chance."

Cook also says she is she will be cheering on the British team and personally McGowan at the Olympics.

"It’s not a personal matter with an individual, it's the situation. 

"I wish her [McGowan] all the best at the Olympics and I genuinely hope Team GB Taekwondo go out there and absolutely smash it because it's a sport that I'm proud to be part of."

This decision is the second controversial decision since 2012, when Bianca's husband Aaron Cook was left out of the British team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London despite being the world no. 1-ranked competitor and twice European champion in the −80 kg division. The British Taekwondo Control Board selected Lutalo Muhammad to compete at the Olympics. 

GB Taekwondo told the BBC its selection panel did not deny Bianca Cook a fight-off, but believed the selection decision could be carried out "without the need to add this additional step in the process".

"The Olympic Selection Panel felt confident that Rebecca McGowan was in a better position than Bianca Cook to contribute to winning the best set of medals for Team GB," it said in a statement. 

Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England told the Team GB official website that the selected team is very talented and it is immense pleasure to have that team travelling to Paris. 

"We welcome back Jade and Bradly, as they each seek to write their own new and exciting chapters in Team GB’s Olympic history.;We also would like to welcome Rebecca and Caden into the team for their first Games, with every confidence they will both flourish in Paris. 

"I know this was an incredibly competitive selection process, but we are excited to support this formidable collection of athletes as they strive to make more history in Paris," said England. 

The taekwondo events will take place at the Grand Palais in Paris over three days from 7 August to 10 August.