A MARTIAL arts expert who won Youth Olympic gold says she “can’t believe” how well she did.

Jade Jones from Flint became the first British athlete to claim gold at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

The 17-year-old tae kwon-do player brushed aside the competition in Singapore to win the gold medal.

Jade overcame Thanh Thao Nguyen of Vietnam in the final to get Great Britain off the mark in the Far East.

She said: “It’s just amazing, it’s always nerve-wracking when it gets that close but it’s whoever wants it more.”

Jade added: “I can’t explain it, and I can’t believe it.

“You’ve always got a little bit of nerves at the back of your head but I was confident.

“I knew I could win on my day but anything can happen.”

The Flint High School pupil, Britain’s number one-ranked junior across both divisions and sexes, underlined her pedigree by claiming world championship silver in March and has now vowed to roar on her team-mates until the curtain falls on the Games.

She said: “It was great to go and see my family, I haven’t seen them for a month.
“I’m definitely going to watch the other athletes and cheer for them because I’ve seen people cheering for me.

“London 2012 is definitely in the back of my mind. I’ve had the experience here so I know what it's going to be like.

“I’ve just got to keep on winning the competitions and hopefully see how it goes.”

Lloyds TSB is proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games. Visit www.LloydsTSB.com/London2012.