Not bad for a teenager! Taekwondo fighter Jade Jones wins Team GB's 25th gold medal with thrilling victory in Olympic final

Welsh athlete, 19, defeats Chinese opponent Hou Yuzhuo 6-4 at the ExCeL

Victory completes glorious hat-trick for Great Britain after Nicola Adams and Charlotte Dujardin won gold medals in boxing and dressage

Jones was competing at the Olympics for the first time

Teenage taekwondo fighter Jade Jones won Great Britain's 25th gold medal of London 2012 tonight with a stunning victory over Chinese competitor Hou Yuzhuo in the Olympic final.



Jones, 19, won the bout 6-4 in front of a capacity crowd at the ExCeL.



She became Great Britain's first ever Olympic taekwondo champion and shared the glorious moment with her mother Jayne Ferguson and grandfather Martin Foulkes, who were in the arena to watch history be made.

Jones threw her helmet in the air and did a lap of honour carrying the Union Flag after the final bell.

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On top of the world: Taekwondo fighter Jade Jones shows off her gold medal - the 25th won by Team GB at London 2012 Kiss of glory: Jade Jones is Great Britain's first Olympic taekwondo champion

Prize fighter: Jade Jones celebrates becoming Olympic champion as her opponent walks away

Her win in the under-57kg weight category completed a terrific hat-trick for British athletes, following gold medals for Leeds boxer Nicola Adams and rider Charlotte Dujardin in the dressage competition.

After the contest, Jones said: 'It feels crazy. It's amazing and the crowd's amazing.'

She called her coach Paul Green 'a legend', adding: 'Without him I wouldn't be where I am today.'

Jones added: 'Before I came out I thought, "I'm not letting her beat me here in front of the home crowd".

'To be the first athlete to win Olympic gold is amazing.'

After a scoreless first round, Jones took the initiative in the second and built a 2-0 lead.

She built up a 6-1 advantage midway through the third and final round and, despite being pegged back in the later stages, held on to win.

Jones's success came after fellow British fighter Martin Stamper missed out on bronze in the men's under-68kg category.

Patriot: The new Olympic champion holds a Union flag and a Welsh flag on a lap of honour after her stunning victory

Golden girl: Jones celebrates glory in the ExCel Arena after beating Hou in the final

Uplifting experience: Great Britain's Jade Jones gets a hug and has her arm raised by coach Paul Green after becoming Olympic champion



Sweet moment: Taekwondo fighter Jade Jones celebrates winning Team GB's 25th gold medal of London 2012

Stamper lost in a third-place play-off to Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpah.



Jones, from Flint, North Wales, was only eight when she first took up the tough fighting sport and she quickly progressed under the guidance of her grandfather.



She had tried football and athletics but was with Mr Foulkes one day at Flint Pavilion Leisure Centre when he spotted a poster advertising the sport.



They met Martin Williams, who became her first coach, and after a taster session the quiet and retiring eight-year-old 'absolutely loved it', soon becoming hooked on the the Korean martial art.



She soon won student of the year awards at her club followed by national competition prizes and at the age of 15 decided to switch from International Taekwondo Federation rules to the World Taekwondo Federation code of the sport that features in the Olympics.

Close contest: The final was a tight and cagey fight but Jones, in the blue body armour, landed the most blows

Fighting fit: Jones took the initiative in the second round and held on in the third to clinch victory

After leaving Flint High School at 16, Jones took up the sport full-time and her grandfather again stepped in.



He took her to regular training sessions 60 miles over the English border at the Manchester Aces club, where her dedication and talent was spotted and nurtured.



Jones reached the final by defeating the world number one, Tseng Li Cheng of Chinese Taipei, in a semi-final upset.



She finished that contest with a late rally and trademark headkick to secure her place in the gold medal match.



The teenager, a world silver medallist in 2011, had opened her Olympic debut with an impressive 15-1 victory over Serbian Dragana Gladovi.



She beat Japan's Mayu Hamada 13-3 in the last eight.