British taekwondo star Jade Jones is eyeing a third Olympic title ©Getty Images

Double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones, has said she is seeking a third Olympic title in Tokyo next year, a feat that is unmatched in the sport.

Jones is one of six athletes to have two gold medals at the Games, but remains the most likely to make it three-in-a-row, with half of those stars having now retired from the sport.

The British star will be 28 at the start of the Tokyo Games, which have been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is also the current world champion in the -57 kilogram category.

In an interview with Sky Sports, she spoke about the prospect of becoming a triple Olympic champion and the difficulty of staying at the same weight category for over a decade.

Jones said: "I always say I want to make history, leave a legacy and do something that no one's ever done because I believe I can and I don't want to waste that chance.

"But I'm also just obsessed with winning - winning the Olympics is the best feeling in the world and all that training, all that graft to be standing at the top of the podium.

"You just feel like the best in the world, so I think I'm addicted to that feeling and I want that feeling as long as possible."

Jade Jones (left) has continued her preparations for Tokyo 2020 during the coronavirus lockdown alongside her teammate Bianca Walkden, with whom she currently shares a flat ©Instagram
Jade Jones (left) has continued her preparations for Tokyo 2020 during the coronavirus lockdown alongside her teammate Bianca Walkden, with whom she currently shares a flat ©Instagram

Jones also spoke about how she manages her weight, having been part of the same weight class since she was 17.

She added: "It has got harder and harder - being 17 years old and being 57 kilos is OK, but now I'm a 27-year-old woman and I've still got to make that same weight category.

"Over time I've put on muscle and naturally you put on a bit of fat as well and its made it mentally harder because when I was a kid I could do what I wanted whereas now I have to be strict and I have to lose about six kilos to make that weight. 

"It is tough, but I just see it as part of that sacrifice to win the gold medal and it's just what I have to do."

Jones added, regarding body image: "It is hard - women are supposed to be curvy and look like a woman, but sometimes when I have to make weight I'm very lean and there's not much on me, but I just embrace it and think that makes me who I am and I'm an Olympic champion because I look like that."

Earlier this year, Jones was awarded the Order of the British Empire, the fourth-highest in British honours, for her services to taekwondo and sport.

If Jones were to win in Tokyo, she would be the first woman to win three Olympic titles in one event and would tie the men's record, currently held by sailor Ben Ainslie, rower Sir Steve Redgrave and cyclists Jason Kenny and Ed Clancy.