Before a single punch is thrown on Friday, this year’s European women’s boxing championships will already go down in history as the most successful in Team Ireland’s history.
Seven bronze medals have already been sewn up, and seven silver medals are on the line on Friday, with a proverbial gold rush in the making come the tournament’s end.
Olympic champion Kellie Harrington is the most high-profile name on the team and has duly delivered the expected medal. But along with World Champion Amy Broadhurst, a bronze medal represents the first step of a job well done.
For many, bronze medals would be like gold dust. For these women, it’s just another day at the office.
It was Shannon Sweeney who got the ball rolling for Ireland. The Mayo star picked apart her opponent for the guts of two rounds, with the referee waving away the fight before the beginning of the third stanza.
Commonwealth champion Michaela Walsh clinched a bronze medal shortly after Sweeney’s win. The Belfast Brawler won bronze in 2018 and silver in 2019. Three years later, she’s aiming to be the gold standard in the Featherweight division.
Victories for Caitlin Fryers, Aoife O'Rourke and Tina Desmond have taken Ireland’s medal haul to seven. A historic achievement, given Ireland’s most prolific tournament brought home three medals at the 2019 Championships.
But the action isn’t done yet. Now, we enter what those in the football world would describe as the business end of the competition. When the tournament comes to a close on Saturday, Ireland will have seven bronze medals at the very least.
Sweeney was the first to claim a bronze medal and will be the first to try and turn bronze into silver. The St Annes BC star opens the show on Friday and is in the first fight of the day when she takes on Sevda Asenova of Bulgaria.
Walsh and Desmond both take on Italian opponents in the form of Irma Testa and Melissa Gemini respectively. World Champion Broadhurst looks to move one step closer to another major win when she steps into the ring to face Sara Beram of Croatia.
Fryers meet Azerbaijan’s Anakhanim Ismayilova while O’Rourke takes on Love Holgersson of Sweden. Kellie Harrington will look to prove she is still the standard bearer of the lightweight division when she battles with Kosovo star Donjeta Sadiku.
A day of historic proportions is in the offing, and all fights will be available to watch on the EUBC YouTube channel.
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