Jones captured the hearts of audiences during the 2012 London Olympics, when she became the first Briton to win a gold medal in taekwondo.<\/p>\n
She defended her title four years later at the Rio 2016 Games, becoming back-to-back champion in the 57kg weight class and etching her name into history.<\/p>\n
Despite a stellar career in the sport, Jones discussed the difficulty of walking away and her struggles post retirement.<\/p>\n
“People don’t realise that when you’re in a sport you reach the highest of the highs, for the Olympic gold, every part of my day was about winning that. How you sleep, how you eat, your mind is consumed with it,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
“Then you reach the pinnacle of the sport, you’re at the top of the mountain, you’ve won the Olympics, you’re the best of the best and then to go back to normal mundane life, it’s tough, it’s like there is something missing.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always had that purpose, that drive, that direction and knowing exactly what I want and what I’m going for. All your day revolves around it, so when it’s missing it’s hard for athletes. Just two months after retirement I felt lost, it was tough.”<\/p>\n
Despite becoming a two-time Olympic champion, she could not make it a third, suffering early round exits at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and drawing her remarkable taekwondo career to a close.<\/p>\n
But it was not long until Jones would take the plunge into the boxing world, one she is determined to shake up.<\/p>\n
“Loads of people told me to retire and just go off into the sunset and enjoy your life kind of thing. But I still had that itch, still had that drive. I’m 33, but I feel like a young 33 and I felt like I just had a lot more to do,” said Jones.<\/p>\n