On Friday night Owain Harris-Allan returned to a hero's welcome at his boxing club in Cardiff. It was a joyful affair featuring speeches from his coach and others from Apollos ABC in Llanedeyrn, the club he calls home in more ways than one. A proper homecoming for the teenager was nothing less than he deserved less than a week after he claimed a bronze medal for Team Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
On Saturday August 6 the young boxer, just 18 years old, narrowly lost his men's bantamweight semi-final against Ghana's Abraham Mensah on a split decision. While disappointed to miss out on a final fight, coming home with a Commonwealth medal was something few would have believed could happen so early in Harris-Allan's career. Twelve months ago, it looked almost unthinkable.
Harris-Allan's route to success has been far from straightforward. Along his way he has battled mental health issues, the traumatic death of his mother and brushes with the law before turning his life around and becoming one of the most highly-rated young boxers in Wales and a future Olympic prospect.
