Dumbarton taekwondo star Rebecca McGowan going for gold after Olympic call-up

Dumbarton taekwondo star Rebecca McGowan is determined to leave Paris with Olympic gold after securing her Team GB spot.

The 24-year-old European Champion officially booked her place at this year’s Olympic Games last week, after travelling to Tokyo 2021 as a reserve fighter.

And Rebecca, who faced ankle surgery as a youngster before tearing the anterior-cruciate ligament in her knee, says the battles she’s already overcome have left her feeling stronger than ever.

The former OLSP pupil told the Lennox: “When you go through the big injuries that put you out for months you put yourself into the mindset that it’s something you’ve got to overcome and it’s just part of your Olympic journey.

“Getting through that becomes your own Olympic journey. I’ve had such a bumpy journey. It’s been quite tough to get here. But if I can get through that then I can get through four fights in Paris.

“Since the beginning of the year I’ve been training like I’m going and preparing for it since January. I’ve been in the mindset that everything I’ve been doing is preparation for the Olympics and to get gold.

“Getting selected was such a huge thing and making sure I secured that was such a big part. Now I don’t have to worry about being chosen, I can focus on enjoying the whole process and becoming an absolute beast to make sure that I get over there and win.

“Mentally I’ve been there before, I’ve been in the prep camp, I’ve been amongst it all in 2021. That alone gave me the drive to come into this one and finish the job and actually get to fight.

“It prepares you for what to expect and it gives me a lot of fire to go and get the job done.”

Rebecca left her Oxhill home and moved to the British taekwondo team’s Manchester HQ when she was just 16