Olympic row 'benefited taekwondo'

Stevenson took bronze in Beijing after her reinstatement

Bronze medallist Sarah Stevenson says taekwondo's profile has benefited from her controversial Olympic experience.

She was eliminated when a scoring shot was not counted but reinstated after a reversal of the judges' decision.

"Something bad happened to me but it's got more publicity for the sport," said Stevenson, who will miss this weekend's British Open through injury.

"It was such a traumatic day and I don't think I'll ever get over it but I think I'll learn to deal with it."

Stevenson was initially eliminated at the quarter-final stage in Beijing and was clearly badly affected when she was asked to compete in the semi shortly afterwards.

"From thinking that the Olympics is over and everything you've worked for has gone down the pan to someone saying, 'You're on in 10 minutes' you can't really get your head around it," she told BBC Radio 2.

The Sarah Stevenson incident was a focal point but the problems weren't necessarily down to the referees

Gerrit Eissink
European Taekwondo Union secretary general

European Taekwondo Union secretary general Gerrit Eissink promised this week that a new electronic scoring system would be in place for the next World Championships in Copenhagen next year.

But the traditional judging method will be used this weekend at the tournament in Manchester, expected to be one of the biggest taekwondo events ever in this country.

"We cannot wait long - electronic scoring is a necessary change in our sport," said Eissink.

"Both before and after Beijing we knew that this would eventually be needed at some point and I think the Olympics highlighted some of the flaws in our traditional scoring system.

"The Sarah Stevenson incident was a focal point but the problems weren't necessarily down to the referees, but down to the system."

Stevenson expects to be out of action for up to four months after undergoing ankle surgery.

And Aaron Cook - who finished fourth in the men's 80kg category in Beijing - has also pulled out of the British Open as he has not had time to resume training fully after the Olympics.

That leaves Manchester's Michael Harvey as the sole GB Olympian taking part, although Cook and Stevenson will both appear at the event.

"While I was at the Games I went over on my ankle in the semis and I've done some quite bad damage to it," said Stevenson.

"I'm going to have a long rest, have a good Christmas and enjoy having a break.

She added: "People know more about taekwondo now and know who I am, which is quite nice. It's great for the sport and it's been quite overwhelming."