Boxing: Ireland's new Olympians claim qualifying gold

IRISH boxers Ken Egan, Darren Sutherland and John Joe Joyce claimed treble gold in Athens on Saturday just 24 hours after qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.


The Irish trio ensured Olympic qualification on Friday afternoon last after winning their semi-final bouts in the Greek capital.

And all three put the icing on the cake of what was an incredible week for Irish boxing with three gold medals at the Olympic Centre of Nikaia a day later.

St Michael's Athy light-welter, John Joe Joyce, at 20, the youngest of the newly qualified Irish Olympians, claimed gold after Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania was retired injured by his corner at the end of the first.

And St Saviours Dublin middleweight, Sutherland, struck gold after French puncher Jean-Michael Raymond was retired on his stool at the end of the second with Sutherland 8-2 up.

Egan was the third Irish boxer into the ring, and the Neilstown Dublin light-heavyweight didn't disappoint, earning a 15-10 verdict over Sweden's Kennedy Katende.

Gary Keegan, who directs the Irish Amateur Boxing Associations High Performance Unit, was thrilled.

He said: "Ken, Darren and John Joe did their country proud in Athens as did the rest of the Irish squad at what was a very demanding and intense tournament.

"Some of our lads had to box every day except Thursday which was a rest day and there was very little time to recover from knocks and bruises.

"But they brought a continuity of performance with them over the course of the tournament and that is vital at this level. We are absolutely thrilled with these wins."

Qualifying three boxers for Beijing and winning three gold medals in Athens ensured that Ireland finished in second spot behind France, who qualified five boxers for the Olympics and won three gold and two silver medals.

The league table was based on the points achieved by 39 nations at what was the final qualifier for European boxers.

Ireland's Paddy Barnes and John Joe Nevin qualified for the Olympics before Athens, meaning that Ireland will now have five boxers competing at the Beijing Workers Arena next August.