BLACKWOOD athlete Lauren Williams has made the final of the Olympics taekwondo.
Williams beat Ivory Coast's Rio Bronze medallist Ruth Gbagbi 24-18 in a thrilling semi-final.
The 22-year-old will compete in the final of the -67kg category with favourite Matea Jelic of Croatia.
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The final will be at 1.30pm today as Williams claims the first medal of this Olympic campaign for a Welsh athlete.
This is Williams' first Olympic games and she is a former kick-boxing star.
She has been troubled with an injury throughout this season, but dispatched Malia Paseka of Tonga in the opening round and then beat Egyptian Hedaya Wahba in a closely contested encounter.
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Williams began taekwondo after seeing fellow Welsh athlete Jade Jones win gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
Unfortunately for Team GB, Jones was eliminated in a surprise opening round loss to Kimia Alizadeh.
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