Taekwondo star defends London 2012 title to claim fourth Welsh gold at Rio 2016

Jones admitted she struggled to cope with the hype of her Olympic win at London 2012, aged just 19. Before arriving in Rio she even admitted puzzlement at her profile, saying: "I've come from a council house in Flint. I'm just a little local girl."

Well she’s little local girl with two Olympic gold medals.

Before these Games no British woman had ever defended an Olympic title but Jones became the third in just a few short days, following dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin and cyclist Laura Trott.

These are already Britain’s most successful overseas Games and Jones’ gold was the 22nd - with three days of competition to come.

It also means that Great Britain have won as many golds in these Games as they did at the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics combined, underlining just what days of glory these are.

And Wales has played it’s part too - winning a record four gold medals and ten it total.

In addition, it’s not just about dominating one sport. Great Britain have entered athletes in 23 sports in Rio and have, so far, reached the podium in 18 of them.

Jones simply doesn’t lose in Team GB kit, from the Youth Olympics in Singapore to the European Games and two Olympic Games, the result is always the same.

Jones had lost in the quarter-finals at the last two World Championships but looked nerveless as she picked off competition round by round to face Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez in the final.

Gomez, who boasted a superior height advantage, previously had Jones’s measure but the 23-year old has been training with world champion British heavyweight Bianca Walkden to counter her threat.

In a thrilling final, Jones took the lead with two perfectly timed headkicks before Gomez stormed back into the contest.

It was tense throughout the second round until Jones unleashed her signature move again, leaving the Spaniard reeling.

“It feels surreal to be honest,” said Jones. “It still doesn’t feel real that I won in London so to have done it again is just crazy.

“I’m so proud of myself because I didn’t realise how much pressure I would feel coming into these Games.

“I started crying before the semi final because I was just so nervous and felt so much pressure. But I pulled it off when it mattered so I’m just so happy.

“I obviously knew I’d feel some pressure as the reigning Olympic champion but I didn’t realise how much it would be.

“I know inside I’m the best but you can still lose so it’s such a scary feeling. You’ve trained for four years of your life, six hours a day, and when it pays off it just feels amazing.

“My family are all here so I’m going to stay a week in Rio and obviously cheer on the rest of the team and hopefully we’ll have a few more medals to come.”

Jones paid special tribute to coach Paul Green, whose hardcore training regimes are legendary, so much so she describes him as a ‘friendly psychopath’.

Together the pair had fine-honed their tactics for this moment, putting aside disappointments of recent World Championships and accentuating the positives of her win at last year’s European Championships and European Games.

“Going into London Jade was an underdog, the girls from Chinese Taipei and France were favourites,” said Green.

“But going into this she was favourite and she knew that. But she does deliver under pressure and she's proved that.

“It's been a bit of an up and down journey. She was a little bit up and down with her motivation after she won in London then she was a little bit confused about what to do next.

“There were a few arguments with me in training to try and get her back motivated, and eventually it came through. She's modernised her game, she's stayed ahead of her game, she's faster and stronger than her opponents. She's one step ahead of the other girls and she's delivered.”