AFTER the agony of twice missing out on the Paralympic Games due to injury, Matt Bush made history on Saturday night in the taekwondo.

Bush, from St Clears, won ParalympicsGB’s first men's taekwondo gold shortly after teammate Amy Truesdale secured Britain’s first ever gold medal in the event.

In a showpiece final at the Grand Palais, Bush took the win after beating Russian Aliaskhab Ramazanov – who was competing as a Neutral Paralympic Athlete –  5-0 in the men’s K44 +80kg event.

Matt Bush won ParalympicsGB's first men's gold medal in taekwondo.Matt Bush won ParalympicsGB's first men's gold medal in taekwondo. (Image: ParalympicsGB)

The former Tasker Milward School pupil was Britain's top male thrower in the F46 javelin ahead of Rio 2016, but a shoulder injury ruled him out of the Rio Games.

And after switching to taekwondo – which was included at the Tokyo Games for the first time –  Bush was selected for ParalympicsGB, but was forced to withdraw due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

But in Paris, the Welshman cut a swathe through the heavyweight field with 16-4 and 26-13 wins securing at least silver.

With his daughter watching on, the 35-year-old put in a tactical masterclass in the final to beat Ramazanov 5-0.

“The injuries and the setbacks, I learnt so much from that and I feel I grew a lot,” he said.

“It’s just really nice to have my family here, my friends here, most of the time we don’t get that opportunity. It’s just amazing to have everyone here for once, in a big, amazing arena and I was lucky enough to pull it out on the day.”

Bush – who is also a former shot putter – has had a long-standing interest in mixed martial arts, starting out as a Brazilian Jujitsu fighter before making the switch to taekwondo.

In 2018, the GB Taekwondo star became the first male Para Taekwondo athlete to win a World Championship for Britain.

“I thought taekwondo was going to be a bit of a side quest, that I would do my normal life and nip in and get a gold but it didn’t work out that way,” said Bush.

“It’s a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of injuries, a lot of time, but we just persevered. I learned a lot from the injuries and the setback and I grew a lot as a person.”

Away from his intense training regime ahead of the Paris Games, Bush is also involved in the family business delivering dairy products, and manages an Airbnb.

“It’s stunning - it’s in Pembrokeshire on the estuary and you can see the water from it,” he said.

“I keep telling everyone in the team they need to come down and use it - but it’s about a six hour drive from where everyone is. But it’s worth the journey.”

Matt Bush in training ahead of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix which was held in Manchester last December.Matt Bush in training ahead of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix which was held in Manchester last December. (Image: GB Taekwondo)

Earlier on Saturday, Truesdale won Great Britain’s maiden Paralympic taekwondo gold in the women’s K44 +65kg event.

Truesdale was 8-2 against defending champion Guljonoy Naimova, but one of her kicks unwittingly caught the Uzbek in the throat and Naimova needed to be stretchered off the mat.

The Brit would have been disqualified had the move been deemed intentional, but judges ruled in her favour after a nervy wait.

It was a day of double delight for Welsh athletes, with Haverfordwest archer Jodie Grinham winning bronze on Saturday – despite being 28-weeks pregnant.

ParalympicsGB claimed five golds on Saturday – taking their total to 11 in the first three days of competition, behind only China in the medal table.

Alice Tai, Stephen Clegg and William Ellard starred in a super Saturday for Great Britain’s swimmers at La Defense Arena, all claiming victory in a 36-minute gold rush.