Ireland confirm team for Olympic qualifiers in Thailand
Grainne Walsh
AS expected, Ireland will send seven boxers to the final Olympic qualification tournament in Bangkok later this month.
They all competed at the first qualification tournament in Milan where Grainne Walsh (66kg) and Daina Moorehouse (50kg) were particularly unlucky not to secure slots at the Paris Games this summer.
The other five bidding to make the team for Paris are: Tokyo bronze medalist at 71kg, Aidan Walsh; European Games athletes Jennifer Lehane (54kg), Sean Mari (51kg), and Kelyn Cassidy (80kg), along with super-heavy Martin McDonagh – who claimed three Irish titles – U22, Senior and Elite, in a ten-month period in 2023.
The second Olympic World Qualifier will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 21 to June 2. Boxing begins on May 24. The standard of refereeing and judging will be under close scrutiny for some inexplicable decisions in Italy.
The Paris Boxing Unit has confirmed that more boxers have entered this qualifier than its counterpart in Milan, to which 602 boxers were registered. As a result, boxing has been brought forward, to begin on May 24.
As with the first qualifier in March, boxers will contest to quota; meaning, they will cease to box at a qualification bout. There will be no semi-finals or finals, and no medals bestowed.
In four of the weights Ireland is contesting in Bangkok, four Paris quota places are available. In men’s 71kg, five quota places are available, and there are three in the men’s 80kg.
On Wednesday, the team departs for a multi-nations preparatory camp in Hua Hin, Thailand.
High Performance Director, Tricia Heberle, said: “This is a highly focused team of exceptional athletes. Every boxer, having contested the first Olympic World qualifier, knows the task ahead of them.
“Their commitment to training and self-improvement has been strongly led by Head Coach Zauri Antia and ably supported by Damian Kennedy, Eoin Pluck, James Doyle and Lynne McEnery.
“The contribution of Club coaches also needs to be recognized, as does the vital role that coaches from the High Performance Paris Pool Coach programme have played. Without these coaches working cooperatively for the betterment of their athletes, we would not feel as well-prepared heading into such an important Olympic qualifier event.
“We have set a target of eight qualifications for the Paris Olympic Games and with six of these already achieved at the 2023 European Games and first Olympic World Qualifier, we are on track. It is not an easy task but key to achieving this is the world-class daily training environment at the Sport Ireland Institute that we are so fortunate to have.”
The maximum team size any federation may qualify for an Olympic Games is 13. Six Team Ireland boxers have already qualified: reigning Olympic lightweight champ, Kellie Harrington, and now double Olympians 57kg Michaela Walsh and Aoife O’Rourke. Jude Gallagher (57kg) booked his ticket to Paris at the first Olympic World Qualifier while 63.5kg Dean Clancy and heavyweight, Jack Marley, qualified at the 2023 European Games.
Irish Team
50kg – Daina Moorehouse, Enniskerry BC, Co. Wicklow
54kg – Jennifer Lehane, DCU Boxing Club, Dublin
66kg – Grainne Walsh, St. Mary’s BC, Tallaght, Dublin
51kg – Sean Mari, Monkstown BC, Dublin
71kg – Aidan Walsh, Holy Family Golden Gloves BC, Belfast
80kg – Kelyn Cassidy, Saviour’s Crystal, Waterford.
92+kg – Martin McDonagh, Galway Boxing Club.
