Olympians Michaela Walsh and Amy Broadhurst are Commonwealth Games gold medallists. The pair became the first and second women from Northern Ireland to ever win a boxing gold medal, in any event.
For Michaela Walsh, it’s redemption after suffering two defeats in consecutive Commonwealth Games finals back in 2018 and 2019.
Walsh ended her quest for gold as she beat Nigeria’s Elizabeth Oshoba by unanimous decision in her featherweight bout. All five judges scored the final in favour of Walsh (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The 29-year-old was struggling to hold back the tears after winning gold alongside her brother.
“It’s unbelievable, seeing Aidan winning earlier on, it was hard not to get emotional because it’s obviously something I’ve dreamed of for him, but to do it together, there’s no words to describe the feeling,” she said.
🥊 An unforgettable night for brother & sister Aidan & Michaela Walsh.
Double Commonwealth Gold. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/uWwYvRL1d4— Stephen Watson (@winkerwatson1) August 7, 2022
“Going into this tournament we were just really enjoying the journey, weren’t really putting too much pressure on ourselves.
“Obviously we wanted a gold medal but we said we’d just enjoy the journey and enjoy the moment, take each day as it comes regardless of what side of the podium we’re standing on.
“We wanted to enjoy it and that’s what we did, we came away with the gold medals.”
Just hours earlier, world gold medallist Amy Broadhurst won her first ever Commonwealth Games title in her first appearance at the games. The world champion at Light Welterweight claimed gold at lightweight after beating home crowd favourite Gemma Richardson by unanimous decision.
Competing at her first ever Commonwealth Games, Broadhurst was the clear favourite to win the lightweight title from the outset. The Dundalk fighter showed no signs of pressure however as she showed her class throughout every bout.
Commonwealth Champion 2022 🥇❤️ pic.twitter.com/OUcsIMqXrA
— Amy Broadhurst (@amybroadhurst12) August 7, 2022
In the final, Broadhurst forced her opponent into standing counts with all five judges eventually scoring the context 30-25 in favour of the Northern Irish fighter.
“It’s incredible and I’ve made history as well in being the first female boxer from Northern Ireland to win Commonwealth gold medal for boxing,” Broadhurst said.
“For me throughout my career to actually have that behind me and to know I’ve made that sort of history is something I’m going to be proud of for as long as I’ll remember boxing.”
