WALKDEN Bianca

General
TACTICS IN THIRD WORLD TITLE
She won her third world title at the 2019 World Championships in Manchester, England, after a controversial +73kg category final against Chinese athlete Zheng Shuyin, to whom she had lost in the semifinals of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Zheng held a 10-point lead after round two of the final in 2019, until Walkden's tactics of forcing Zheng out of the ring to incur penalty points resulted in Zheng's disqualification. Zheng and her coach claimed the refereeing was unfair. Walkden stood by her tactics, stating that she "went out there needing to find a different way to win and a win is a win if you disqualify someone. I would go out and do exactly the same thing again". (bbc.com, 17 May 2019; ecns.cn, 18 May 2019; supchina.com, 20 May 2019; telegraph.co.uk, 17 May 2019; scmp.com, 21 May 2019; bbc.com, 13 Sep 2019)

TAEKWONDO RELATIONSHIPS
She has been in a relationship since 2008 with British-born Moldovan taekwondoka Aaron Cook. She has lived with fellow British taekwondoka Jade Jones since 2010. "Me and Jade train together, eat together, and win together - hopefully. Nine years we've been in the academy [speaking in 2019], people even say we look the same now. We've been together so long it's like we're blending together. Jade has a determination to always want to be the best. She's won Olympic gold before and still goes out to try and be the best with every kick, an attitude which has a big effect on me. I'm around the possibility of becoming an Olympic champion, it's a big confidence boost for me." (Instagram profile, 14 Nov 2019; Facebook profile, 07 Mar 2018; telegraph.co.uk, 14 May 2019; teamgb.com, 09 Apr 2020)

INJURIES DISRUPT PREVIOUS OLYMPIC PREPARATIONS
Injuries disrupted her preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as well as her failed bid to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She had returned to full fitness from her 2011 knee injury by the time of the 2012 European Championships, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of that tournament and was not selected as one of Great Britain's two female taekwondo representatives at London 2012. "It was heartbreaking. I was crying every day and every night because I deserved a place to go to London." In 2014 she ruptured ligaments in her other knee, which again disrupted her preparations for the Olympic Games. Following successful surgery and recovery she returned to win a world title in 2015, which helped put her Olympic aspirations back on track, and she went on to win a bronze medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "If I hadn't won at the worlds in 2015 and claimed so many ranking points, I would have been struggling for Rio." (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020; bbc.com, 15 Oct 2015; dailymail.co.uk, 04 May 2012; telegraph.co.uk, 07 May 2012; liverpoolecho.co.uk, 02 May 2012)

FAMILY BUSINESS
In 2017 she used her taekwondo prize money to help set up a pizzeria business near Liverpool, England, with her family. "Me and my brother put our money together and made this restaurant for our family business. My grandad Pasquale, who passed away in 2015, was from Naples and we wanted to keep the Italian side of our family going. It's called Di Scala Pizzeria. My mum and dad work there, and sometimes when they're busy I do a sneaky shift as a waitress." (telegraph.co.uk, 14 May 2019; liverpoolecho.co.uk, 09 May 2019; nickhope.tv, 01 Dec 2019; stylist.co.uk, 01 Jan 2021; merseysportlive.co.uk, 03 Mar 2020)

She became the first British taekwondoka to win three world titles when she claimed her third title at the 2019 World Championships in Manchester, England. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020)