Harvey and Walkden clinch more British gold in Manchester

MICHAEL Harvey and Bianca Walkden have taken Great Britain's gold medal tally to three at the British Taekwondo Championships in Manchester.

Harvey, competing in his home town, beat France's Stevens Barclais 7-3 to take gold in the -63kg at the Manchester Regional Arena, while Liverpool's Walkden overcame fellow Britain Stephanie Allen to defend her 2008 crown.

They both topped the podium just a day after Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Stevenson captured gold, leaving Sport Taekwondo UK boss Andrew Link optimistic ahead of October's World Championships in Copenhagen.

"With the World Championships coming up in October, it was an important part of our preparation for the team," he said.

The British Championships have been experimenting with the new electronic scoring systems that will be employed at the World Championships.

Taekwondo points scoring has come under the microscope ever since the Beijing Olympics when suspect judging almost denied Stevenson a bronze medal and prompted Cuba's Angel Matos to kick out at an official.

But Harvey insists he encountered few problems with the new system.

"I felt pretty comfortable with it," said Harvey. "There will be a few kicks that don't register but I think it's the same as before when some things weren't seen."