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.

We want to hear why you love Newport. Click here to tell us a bit about yourself and what you like the most about our city, and we’ll share it with our readers. https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/mynewport​ 

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.

More news:

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.