Legendary Belfast boxer Jim McCourt has passed away at the age of 79.
McCourt won an Olympic boxing bronze medal in 1964 for Ireland - the only medal the team won in any sport at the Tokyo Olympics. McCourt is one of only 18 Irish fighters to ever claim an Olympic medal.
The Belfast man came so close to a gold medal match but missed out after a controversial 3-2 defeat by the Soviet Union's Velikton Barannikov in their lightweight semi-final.
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McCourt won a European bronze medal a year after that Olympic heartbreak and then came a gold medal in Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games.
The Immaculata fighter was also a seven-time Irish champion.
The Belfast boxing great battled illness in recent times but his passing on Monday was unexpected.
"He was still looking great until yesterday. He had been ill but he rallied so many times. He just went really, really quickly in the end," the boxer's daughter Cathy told BBC.
His nephew Frankie McCourt posted: "My Uncle my Coach my Hero the great Jim McCourt. Rest in peace.."
Boxing journalist Kevin Byrne said: "RIP Jim McCourt. A titan."
Eugene Duffy responded to the news, saying: "So sorry to hear this sad news,Jim Mc Court,Rest In Peace, condolences to the family, & Jim's many friends, Jim,was one of Irelands greatest ever boxers."
McCourt was flag bearer at the Mexico Olympics for Ireland and was inducted into the Irish Amateur Boxing Association hall of fame in 2011.
Ahead of the 2020 Olympics, Belfast boxer Aidan Walsh spoke of his links to McCourt and how he wished to emulate him.
“Jim McCourt was actually a very good friend of my granda Niall, he was in my granda’s house all the time,” said Walsh.
“Someone actually said to me before coming out here, ‘Oh Jim McCourt’ - they always said about the styles being similar and he won it in 1964.
“My daddy actually phoned me the other day and he was saying about how coincidental it was that Jim won in 1964, because my daddy was born in 1964.
“It’s just coincidental. This type of stuff is written before we’re ever here.”
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