Women's Boxing Worthy Of Olympic Inclusion

Ireland's Katie Taylor Aims For Gold In 2012

Feb 17, 2009

Following on from some extremely competitive Men's boxing at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there has been speculation about whether Women's boxing will appear in 2012.

The 2012 Olympics takes place in London, and will have a lot of work to do to live up to the extravaganza that took place in the Chinese Capital last year. Work is already under way in building the Olympic Village and making sure that all the necessary elements are in place to ensure that all the athletes, and the supporters who are watching from the stands, are made feel at home. London is a major city and is obviously well-suited to hosting the Olympic Games. More work needs to be done though, and will no doubt be done right up to the start of the games, which the top brass in the United Kingdom will hope can live up to previous years.

Boxing was a major success at the Beijing Games with hosts China, the United Kingdom and Ireland benefiting greatly and winning a number of medals in the different weight divisions. In the United Kingdom, James De Gale won a gold medal at middleweight level, while bronze medals went to Tony Jeffries and David Price. China were extremely successful also, winning four medals - 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Gold medals went to Zou Shiming and Zhao Xiaoping, silver went to Zhang Zhilei and a bronze medal went to Hanati Silamu.

Perhaps the biggest success story though was related to Ireland, who came into the games with very little optimism around getting a medal. The country has been shrouded in Olympic controversy in recent times with Michelle Smith De Bruin's four year ban in 1998 for tampering with a sample, and also the stripping of equestrian star Cian O'Connor's medal after his horse failed a drugs test. Indeed, even in Beijing, horse rider Denis Lynch was disqualified for a drug-related incident. So, for the Boxers to come home with three medals was a terrific achievement. For the record, Paddy Barnes won bronze medals and Kenny Egan was extremely unfortunate not to get a gold, but he was more than happy to settle for a silver medal.

With so much good work being done for Irish Boxing by the likes of Billy Walsh, a former Buffer's Alley hurler, then there is genuine cause for optimism with London 2012 very much on the horizon. They will also be hopeful that women's boxing will be included on the itinerary in three years, largely due to the exploits of one Katie Taylor. The 22 year old, who attended St. Killian's school in her native Bray, Co. Wicklow, has forged quite a reputation for herself, especially in the last four years. She started boxing, under the tutelage of her father Peter, at the age of 12 and would go on to be crowned European Amateur Champion in 2005. She would regain her crown in 2006, before going to taking the World Championship crown in 2007 and 2008. It is no wonder that the Irish Sporting Council is so eager to have women's boxing included in the next Olympic games.

With so many people across the world so eager to have it included in the competition, it simply wouldn't make sense if it wasn't included in three years time. When there is such a healthy competition at both European and World Championship level, it is clear that there would be much for an expectant audience to marvel in should we see it take place in London. Chances are that people won't find out what the decision of the Olympic Council for another while but, in the meantime, the top-class Boxers like Taylor will have to continue doing what they do best until they know whether they can compete or not.

The copyright of the article Women's Boxing Worthy Of Olympic Inclusion in Amateur Boxing is owned by Daire John. Permission to republish Women's Boxing Worthy Of Olympic Inclusion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.