Emotions ran high in the Nowy Targ Arena as a succession of Irish boxers took their shot at Olympic immortality.
Technically, yesterday was not the last chance saloon for the seven European Games quarter-finalists who needed one more win to clinch Paris 2024 qualification.
But while Kellie Harrington, Dean Clancy and Michaela Walsh booked their passage to the French capital at the European Games yesterday, four other Irish boxers failed in their bids in Poland.
READ MORE: 'Nothing is impossible' says Zaur Antia as Paris 2024 tickets on offer today for Irish boxers
There is no guarantee that those who didn't get the job done this week in Poland will get a shot at the world qualifiers next year. That will be largely determined by what happens at the Nationals in November.
Thus there was a huge amount at stake - and a frenetic day that threw up mixed results, leading to tears of relief, joy and heartbreak.
In all, Team Ireland were involved in nine last eight contests. The quarter-finals involving Jack Marley and Aoife O'Rourke were not qualifying shoot-outs - but their impressive victories mean that their semi-finals will be tomorrow.
Ashbourne's Jenny Lehane was first into the ring but was well beaten by Bulgaria’s Stanimira Petrova in the 54kg category.
Harrington came next and there was an outpouring of emotion from the 33-year-old after another gutsy display saw the Tokyo gold medal winner get the better of Agnes Alexiusson of Sweden in a tough 60kg contest.
“I’m overjoyed," said Harrington. "It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.
"I said if I qualified out here, I'm going to let things go, because I’ve had a rough few months and this makes it all worthwhile, coming back strong.
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"I’ll only call myself a double Olympian once I get to Paris, but it’s incredible. I’m on cloud nine right now. I know that my face doesn’t say I’m overjoyed.
"It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions - to come back after my hand being raised it’s just been incredible. To go home now and to celebrate with my small circle - with my family, with Mandy - I just can’t wait.
"The last camp has been amazing and that's made me feel like I'm able to keep up with them, that I must be getting closer to where I was and that's what made me.”
The 33-year-old cried tears of joy and relief as she revealed that she would have retired had she failed in her bid to become a double Olympian.
"There were moments where I didn’t think I wanted to be here," she confessed.
"I was retiring without telling anybody after this if I didn’t qualify. That was my retirement cue to get out.
“I often heard people say, once you get to the top it's like, ‘Okay, where do I go from there?’ Now I've been there and that's kind of what happened.
"I've never celebrated any of (the victories) at all. It was like, ‘What's next? What's next?’. I feel like I was chasing something that I didn’t even know what I'm chasing.
"So I haven't been enjoying it because I didn't know what I was looking for."
The high of that success gave way to disappointment as 2022 world champ Broadhurst visibly tired in the third round as her opponent Rosie Joy Eccles used her superior power - she came down from 69kg to the 66kg category - to claim victory on a split decision, the judges giving it 3-2 to the GB fighter.
Broadhurst hinted she will consider going pro in the wake of a devastating result.
"I don’t know what’s next," said the 27-year-old. "I don’t know if I’ll ever strap an amateur glove around my hand again or if I’ll go pro.
"Heartbroken isn’t the word. I always thought my destiny was the Olympic Games, I believed I was born for boxing, I was to be an Olympic champion and that’s not the way it’s gone for me."
Soon after, however, Dean Clancy became the first Sligo boxer to qualify for the Olympics when he beat Italian champ Gianluigi Malanga.
A member of Sean McDermott BC in Manorhamilton, Clancy dedicated his triumph to his grandfather Tony, who was buried yesterday having passed away on Saturday.
Clancy was only told of the sad news after his bout on Sunday. "That was for him," said the 21-year-old. "He’s looking down happy, he was a massive supporter of mine. I hope he’s proud of me.
"I'm glad that my father came down yesterday, he's supporting me there in the crowd. It's a dream of ours since he first got me into boxing. I don't know what to say, I'm absolutely thrilled.
"I went to the Youth Olympics in 2018 and got a taster of a multi-sport event - I'm just looking forward to the senior Olympics now."
Kelyn Cassidy can also count himself unfortunate having got up early against the Tokyo silver medallist in the lightweight division, only for Ukrainian Oleksandr Khzyhniak to storm home in the final round to claim the victory.
The most controversial decision to go against Zaur Antia's team was Daina Woodhouse's defeat to Wassila Lkhadiri of France.
Woodhouse won the first two rounds but Lkhadiri scored well enough to keep herself in contention before scraping through 10-9 on four judges' cards in the final round, with Antia reacting angrily when the decision was announced.
At least Michaela Walsh finished the day on a jubilant note by dominating Melissa Juvonen Mortensen of Denmark and, like Harrington, will become a double Olympian next summer.
"Indescribable." she said. "You're not too sure sometimes what way the judges will score, I thought I was in control but until your hand is raised...it's a special, special moment.
"It's surreal, it's something outside of you. I was visualising it in my head all week but I wasn't trying to look too far ahead because I had three fights to qualify.
"I'll try the best I can do, and if that's to go to the Olympic Games and win a gold medal, that's how it will be.
"I'm going to enjoy this moment and when I go to bed I'll dream about going to Paris."
