FOR over a year they have been consumed by the make-or-break European qualifier that would decide their joint fate – but once this competition is over Aidan and Michaela Walsh will turn their focus from Olympic qualification to landing an Olympic medal.
The west Belfast siblings made history by booking their Tokyo 2020 spots within an hour of each other in Paris on Sunday, and they will become the first boxing brother and sister to compete at the same Games once the action gets under way in Japan on July 23.
Before that, though, there is still business to be attended to – for Michaela at least. The 28-year-old followed up Sunday’s victory over Sweden’s Stephanie Thour with a narrow split decision win over familiar foe Stanimira Petrova yesterday.
Despite appearing to edge the first few rounds, it all hung in the balance heading into the last as Walsh took the fight to the Bulgarian, landing the cleaner shots to get the nod from the judges.
With Olympic seeding spots up for grabs, she will meet Italy’s Irma Testa in this afternoon’s decider, just months after getting the better of the reigning European champion during a training camp test match in Jordanstown.
Aidan, meanwhile, lost out to world number one Pat McCormack in yesterday’s semi-final, bringing his tournament to an end.
Once they return from Paris, though, a new countdown will begin for Walshs – and Monkstown coach Paul Johnston believes both are well capable of returning from Tokyo with a medal after competing at their first Games.
“Absolutely, I’m very confident,” he said.
“They’re exceptional athletes, exceptional human beings. They never took their eye off the goal. The plan may have changed but the goal didn’t, it was always to qualify and now the goal is to go there and medal.
“There’s probably less pressure actually at the Olympics than what there has been getting there. There’s been so much pressure even funding-wise – Aidan didn’t get funded through Sport Northern Ireland recently. Four weeks before he went away he got a Dear John letter, so it is costing him money going to Dublin.
“Michaela has earned her podium funding through the years but Aidan has made massive sacrifices. That said, he has personal sponsors who have stood by him for the past four years and they need to be really congratulated and recognised for supporting him.
“Their mum and dad, the whole family, are behind them completely so I have no doubt they are going to go on to better things. I would be very disappointed, as they would, if they didn’t get to the podium at least.”
It has been a remarkable rise for younger sibling Aidan, who looked to be out of the welterweight picture after losing to Paddy Donovan in the 2019 Irish Elite semi-final, Donovan then losing out to Galway’s Kieran Molloy in the final.
But while Molloy looked to be in pole position at 69 kilos, everything changed when Donovan turned pro, hooking up with fellow Limerick fighter-turned-trainer Andy Lee. Walsh was brought into the fold and impressed enough to get the nod for a place at the 2019 World Championships.
Months later he beat Molloy en route to landing a first Irish Elite title, further cementing his number one spot. The 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist hasn’t looked back since.
“I want to say thank you to Team Ireland,” said the 24-year-old.
“They picked me to go away to the major competitions and they believed in me when I wasn’t even number one in Ireland. Since then I have just progressed massively. I became number one, went to all the major tournaments, did well and came here and qualified for the Olympic Games.
"This time two years ago I was ready to pack boxing in. There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes but I stuck it out, the coaches believed in me, my family believed in me, my girlfriend believed in me and my club coaches."
Johnston admits the pair are “perfect role models” at Monkstown, the club they joined four years ago this month.
He has seen them flourish on the international stage, and reserved special praise for Michaela who has come back stronger from setbacks through the years to fulfil her Olympic dream.
“The resilience she has shown to refocus and continually come back, there’s a real toughness to her. I call her ‘the rose’ – she’s beautiful to look at but when she hits you it’s like a thorn. You don’t mess with her.
“They bounce off each other so well. If one’s getting it tight, the other’s there to bring them back up. They push each other and that’s a recipe for success. Michaela has led the way and Aidan’s just following in her footsteps.
“I couldn’t be more delighted for them.”
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BRENNAN IN SEVENTH HEAVEN AFTER CLAIMING SPOT AT GAMES
AFTER a gruelling three round slugfest, Emmet Brennan raised his hands and slapped the flag on his vest as he became the seventh member of the Irish boxing team bound for Tokyo in six weeks time.
In the penultimate box-off last night, the Dublin light-heavy battled like his life depended on it, matching fire with fire against rough, tough Swede Liridon Nuha.
Indeed, Nuha could count himself extremely lucky not to have been docked a point after twice punching Brennan on the break, as well as landing a left hand after the bell at the end of round one – not to mention the countless times he caught his opponent with the head.
Irish nerves were jangling when Brennan had a point taken off for excessive holding in the third round, but he continued to pick his shots perfectly on the way to edging home by the narrowest of margins – four of the judges scoring the fight 28-28, with the other 29-27 in the 30-year-old’s favour to spark scenes of celebration in the ring.
Earlier in the day, former World champion Kellie Harrington set up a mouth-watering Ireland versus England contest in today’s lightweight final, where she will face rising star Caroline Dubois.
Harrington was too slick for Turkey’s Esra Yildiz, taking a unanimous decision in their semi-final showdown. Twenty-year-old Dubois, sister of pro heavyweight Daniel, added to her burgeoning reputation by beating Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson, having already accounted for experienced Finn Mira Potkonen over the weekend.
After reaching the final, Harrington now looks assured of the top seeding in Tokyo, a huge boost heading into her first Olympics.
Middleweight Aoife O'Rourke’s tournament came to an end at the last four stage when she lost out to reigning world champion Lauren Price yesterday. The Roscommon woman, like Harrington, secured her spot in Tokyo on Saturday.
