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The first weekend in July was a historic moment for Scottish tennis player Andy Murray, bringing an end to 75 years of British pain when he beat Serbian Novak Djokovic to take home the Wimbledon men’s singles trophy. But while
most of the UK and Ireland were tuned into centre court on that sweltering Sunday, over in Hungary our very own sporting star Katie Taylor had already added another title to her name and another medal to her collection.
This, the European Union Championships, was her first major tournament since her renowned win at the London Olympics last year. Taylor had been kicking her heels to get back in the ring. She told Newstalk’s Off The Ball: “I
was so excited about this competition. In the last few months I’d had injury worries and wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to compete or not. After the Olympics I took a few weeks off to get a fresh body and mind, and following
that I was so hungry again to get boxing. I had a few fights earlier this year, but there’s nothing like being involved in a big competition.”
After Murray won at Wimbledon, he said he’d reached the peak of his mountain; that it would never get any better than winning the tournament for the first time. But even after arriving at her own summit last year, Katie
wasn’t fatigued going into this competition.
“I never have any problem motivating myself. Boxing for your country is a huge honour, whether it’s at the Olympics or the European Unions or the World Championships. It’s always such a big challenge, because everyone is out there to beat me.”
Unsurprisingly Taylor boxed her way to the finals, and after facing-off against France’s Estelle Mosselly, took home the gold in a unanimous decision from the judges. It was her fifth consecutive win at the championships, bringing her number of major titles up to 15. She also scooped the Boxer of the Tournament award.
Unlike her stint at the Olympics, Taylor wasn’t the only boxer to bring back the gold. For the first time she was joined by a full team of Youth and Junior female boxers ranging from ages 16 to 18; together they earned 4 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze, the biggest haul in the 102 year history of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. “It’s great to see the young girls coming up and the talent that they have. The future of Irish women’s boxing is so bright,” she said. Certainly, gold medal winners Kristina O’Hara, Jacqui Lynch, Graine Gavin and Amy Broadhurst are names which could soon become as quintessential to Irish sport as Taylor's has.
But their success might not have been possible if she hadn’t paved the way for them. Women’s boxing first appeared at the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout way back in 1904 but was banned for most of the 20th
Century. It wasn’t until 1988 when the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association pioneered its return, with Britain’s equivalent association permitting its first women’s boxing competition in 1997. It was the very next year when Taylor, then aged 12, started training. She was coached by her father Peter, himself a successful boxer.
When she qualified for the London 2012 Olympics it was the first time women’s boxing was permitted. At 26 she had already created a considerable legacy and inspired a new generation of future boxing heroines. Her final against Britain’s Natasha Jones was accompanied by a country-wide fever pitch, and when her victory was announced the crowd in the auditorium cheered so loudly they made a record of their own; at 113.7 decibels, the sound of their celebrations was a whisper away from a clap of thunder and an official Olympic noise record. Back in Ireland, her hometown of Bray in Co. Wicklow had erected huge television screens and thousands came out to support her.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be a role model for these young girls. Everything is set in place for them now. They have everything to box for.” Many of the girls have just been training in their local clubs. Before the championships
Taylor said they ran a training camp where they got used to training as a team. They even invited the German national team over for a bit of sparring.
“It’ll be great to see these girls getting the funding they need to train full time. They need that support so they can progress and be the best they can be.”
Taylor plans to return to the Olympics to defend her title. “The European Unions is where it all started. It’s a stepping stone towards 2016.” Next year will be a busy year for Katie; she’ll be competing in both the European and
World Championships. And after a short holiday to New York she is already back training.
After that she might do what her father did, and turn to coaching. “I’d love to coach. It would be a great way to stay involved in boxing when I retire. I could pass on some of my experience to the girls.”
It’s clear that Taylor’s star will keep rising, but she’s not alone in the sky any more. “If you had asked me a couple of years ago what the future of Irish women’s boxing was like, I wouldn’t have known what to say. But seeing the
young girls coming up now, and seeing their attitude and their focus, they were absolutely brilliant over there.
They’re the stars of the future. I’m really excited to see what they’re going to do.”
This article originally appeared in Newstalk Magazine for iPad in July, for more details go here.
