SARAH Stevenson has won an Olympic bronze medal in taekwondo - but not before a controversial bout earlier in the competition.

Stevenson was awarded victory in her +67kg taekwando quarter-final after a successful protest by the Great Britain team.

Stevenson trailed 1-0 in the dying seconds of her fight with Zhong Chen when she landed a kick to head of her opponent - worth two points - but it was not scored by the judges.

Stevenson was enraged by the decision and Britain immediately launched a protest.

Judges studied video of the kick and the result of the fight was reversed - to the displeasure of the largely Chinese crowd.

The tournament director said: "The competition supervisory board has looked into this matter deeply, has made video analysis which has been open to all the referees and judges.

"In applying paragraph two of page 64 of the competition rules of the World Taekwondo Federation we have to change this result and we have to declare the British player as winner.

"We are very sorry to the spectators of China but justice is first. Thank you for understanding."

A tearful Stevenson was clearly upset by the row and she was unable to prepare properly for her semi-final bout, which she lost 4-1 to a Mexican opponent. But she bounced back strongly to defeat Egyptian Nowa Abd Rabo 5-1 in the bronze medal match. Stephenson, nursing a twisted ankle, becomes Britain's first ever Olympic taekwondo medallist.