European Taekwondo Championships: Bradly Sinden and Joseph Lane win gold medals
- Published
Bradly Sinden finally claimed gold at the European Taekwondo Championships while Paralympian Joseph Lane also won in Manchester on Saturday.
Sinden, 23, has previously won European silver and bronze, and became world champion in 2019.
And he became European champion too after beating Spain's Javier Perez Polo 18-8 in the -68kg final.
Lane, also 23, beat Asadbek Toshtemirov of Uzbekistan 8-3 to claim gold in the K44 -80kg final.
"My nickname's Mr Consistent and people said 'now it's time to get it'," said Sinden.
"I've not had the best year, I've had injuries and setbacks, but I'm confident in my ability to get in there and perform, and we got our tactics spot on."
There was more medal joy for Britain on day three of the event as Olympic silver medallist Lauren Williams claimed bronze in the women's -67kg category after her run was halted by a 22-9 loss to Magda Wiet Henin of France.
Sinden, another Olympic silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, beat Polo in the final of the 2019 World Championships, which were also held in Manchester.
"The last time we had a proper crowd at a major [event] was at the Manchester worlds so it's fitting to have the crowd back here and to top it off with a gold," he said.
Lane, who lost at the first hurdle in Tokyo Paralympics, added: "It's amazing. This is what I've trained for. Me and my coach, and everyone around me, has put the hard work in.
"Great Britain is the first country to put [an integrated event] on, to include the Paras. Everyone was so happy yesterday for Beth [Munro] and were cheering on Amy [Truesdale], and we've got more medals to come.
"It's amazing to see everyone come out and support us."