In 2012 Jade Jones won Olympic gold and the hearts of a nation when she ran around the sports arena in elation holding the Welsh dragon aloft. Now her inspiring story of hard work and determination has been turned into a book for the newly launched 2014 Quick Reads series.
The Quick Reads series were launched this week by the Welsh Books Council as an initiative to get Wales back into the habit of reading. Producing short, snappy books all available from libraries, bookshops and online for just £1. The project aims to get those who’ve fallen out of the habit of reading reaching out to grab these exciting new titles.
In Headhunter, the title inspired by her nickname on the Taekwondo circuit due to her habit of kicking for her opponents head to win extra points, Jade describes the journey that took her from Flint to London via Korea and Singapore.
Jade describes how her grandfather fired her passion for martial arts, “My granddad, Martin Foulkes, is my inspiration,” says Jade. “He is the one who set me on the path to Olympic gold. When I was eight years old, he took me to the local taekwondo club… and the rest, as they say, is history!”
The book also describes the hard work, determination and sacrifices her family had to make, including numerous day trips to Cardiff for training, to keep Jade’s taekwondo dreams alive.
But one Olympic Gold isn’t enough for Jade. “I’m setting my goals for the future, she says. “I’m not World Champion yet or European Champion. I want to go to Rio for the next Olympic Games in 2014. I want to be the best I can possibly be.
“For me, training had for hours a day is tough but when it pays off and you become a champion it’s all worthwhile. Nothing worth anything comes easily. If you believe… you can do it! Try hard enough and you can!”
Angharad Tomos of the Welsh Books Council stated, “It’s so great to have Jade’s story from schoolgirl to Olympic champion as one of our Quick Read titles for 2014. She’s such an inspiration to us – working so hard to achieve her ambitions.
“The whole aim of Quick Reads, coordinated by the Welsh Books Council and supported by the Welsh Government, is to encourage people to look afresh at reading through entertaining, fun and short books, especially written for people who have lost the reading habit or those that wish to improve their skills and confidence around reading. By taking a step-by-step, page-by-page approach we hope we can help to overcome any confidence issues that may exist and show that reading can be a fun and inspiring activity which all the family can enjoy.”
Quick Reads are available from bookshops, libraries and online at www.gwales.com
