Bianca Walkden might be a three-time world champion but she is not even the most famous member of her own family.
‘They overtook me on Instagram followers, I was fuming!’ laughs the Team GB taekwondo star about the Grammy-nominated DJ duo CamelPhat, who her brother Mike is one half of.
Walkden’s respectable 107k followers is now dwarfed by the 274k of CamelPhat, who have achieved global fame since releasing their platinum-selling chart hit Cola in 2017.
Taekwondo star Bianca Walkden wants to return from Tokyo as an Olympic champion
‘I don’t see him as a full-on superstar DJ, I just see him as my older brother,’ says Walkden. ‘He’s a champion in his own world.
‘They are world class and are going to be well known everywhere. Hopefully I can do that as well in the Olympics.’
You would not bet against it. Walkden goes to Tokyo as a reigning world champion, just like she did at Rio 2016 when she came back from the Games with a bronze medal in the +67kg heavyweight category.
‘I was devastated at getting bronze in Rio last time,’ she tells Sportsmail. ‘I want to hopefully turn that round and come out as Olympic champion.
The 29=year-old goes to Tokyo as a reigning world champion, just like she did at Rio 2016
‘It is the last medal I need. I have the rest. I have done it multiple times and I just want to tick that last gold off.’
Walkden does not need to look far for inspiration given that her housemate is Jade Jones, the double Olympic champion who is looking to make history by winning a third gold in Tokyo.
During last year’s first lockdown, the British pair converted their garage in Manchester into a makeshift taekwondo gym, complete with body opponent bags, pads, mats, weights and bikes.
‘Jade and I have lived together since 2010,’ says Walkden. ‘We were locked down together, training together, playing games, being kids again, trying to get through it like everyone else.
