Born in Doncaster, England, Sarah started to make a name for herself in taekwondo when in 1998 she became Junior World Champion, followed by Junior European Champion in 1999.
Sarah then qualified 3rd at the 2000 Summer Olympics Qualification Tournament, drawing the attention of Jackie Chan who sponsored her while promoting Shanghai Noon in the UK. Although not taking a medal in the 2000 Olympics (4th place), Sarah went on to become World Champion in 2001, the first British Taekwondo World Champion ever.
Sarah has since become four times European Champion and World silver medallist in 2005. In 2008, Sarah competed in the Beijing Olympics with the extremely well documented controversy that led to her being eliminated in the quarter finals after the referee failed to recognise clear points scored. The decision was later overturned but with 20 minutes to prepare, Sarah was defeated in the semi final.
Despite the loss, Sarah came back to win the bronze medal and became the first ever British athlete to medal in the sport of Taekwondo at an Olympic Games.
Not only has Sarah shown a consistent ability to compete at the top for a number of years, but has inspired many on and off the mat. She has recently set up ‘Sarah Stevenson Inspires’ which aims to educate and train young, aspiring Taekwondo athletes.
Sarah’s most recent success came in May 2011 by becoming World Champion for the third time and will represent Great Britain at -67kg at London 2012.