Member Article

Gold-medal winning Olympian unveils new Vision Express store

TaeKwonDo star Jade Jones opens new Manchester Arndale Centre opticians.

After 27-years trading in Manchester, Vision Express has officially opened the doors to its new Manchester Arndale store, with the help of olympic gold medalist, Jade Jones.

The 24-year-old TaeKwonDo star, originally from Bodelwyddan in Wales and who trains at the Ten Acres sports complex in Manchester at least three times a day, joined the store team led by manager, Danny Gowing, to help with an official ribbon cutting for the newly relocated store. The move to larger premises in the Arndale Centre was to help accommodate growing customer demand and the appointment of a new staff member.

Jade, who relies heavily on having good sight to keep on top of her game, noticed her vision deteriorate after winning gold in the 2012 London Olympics.

“I had eye tests when I was a kid and they were always fine,” Jade explains. “After the 2012 Olympics, I kept asking people what the score was from far away and they were surprised I couldn’t read it.”

Jade now wears contact lenses and keeps on top of her eye health with regular check-ups and new prescription lenses from Vision Express.

“I wear contact lenses literally every single day, without them I don’t know how I would train because my sight isn’t the best - now my vision’s clear, I can kick people in the head better!

“I remember one time I got my eye scratched and I couldn’t see for a whole fight. Luckily there was no long-term damage, I had a similar situation when my contact got kicked out too.

“So, for anyone putting off having an eye test, I would advise to just go in and get one booked. It may seem daunting and you might think your eyes are ok, but it’s best to be sure,” Jade concludes.

With two Olympic gold medals under her belt, from the London and Rio Olympics respectively, Jade hopes to win a third in Tokyo in 2020, in the Women’s 57kg category.

Store manager Danny Gowing adds: “It was brilliant having Jade in store as she regularly comes in for her contact lenses, check-ups and to look at our range of glasses. Like me, Jade loves the new store and our customers too really like the fresh décor, fantastic selection of frames and latest eye health technology.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vision Express .