European Games: 'This is the best moment of my life – by a mile' – Walker secures sensational gold for Ireland
Kurt Walker grabbed a boxing gold medal for Ireland after a classy win over former world bronze medallist Mykola Butsenko of Ukraine.
Walker produced a composed performance to comprehensively beat his experienced opponent with a 5-0 unanimous verdict on the judges' cards.
“I actually can’t describe how I’m feeling, it’s absolutely unbelievable,” he said afterwards. “To come here at the start and believe I’ll win gold, but for it to actually happen is just on a different level.
“He was very tough, he’s been about. This was his third European final so he’s very experienced and he kept coming and coming, so I’m just glad I was able to fight through it. Two years ago in the European Championships, he beat me in the semis 5-0 and it just shows I’ve grown so much as a boxer and a man in the last two years
“The coaches need so much credit, the game plan it was unbelievable and I knew it was working. I came back after the first round and they were both buzzing and they’re never usually like that! You usually have to do more and more, but they were both buzzing and they said keep picking it up, and thankfully I did. It’s unbelievable – it was everything coming true. You have these dreams of it happening, but when it actually does happen you don’t know what to do, you just feel so happy it’s unbelievable.”
Walker's win ended a strong Irish boxing campaign with silver medals for Harrington and Michaela Walsh plus three bronzes to take their tally to six.
Harrington pulls out of final fight due to injury
Kellie Harrington is out of her lightweight boxing European Games Final in Minsk.
Harrington picked up a hand injury in her semi-final win over Sweden's Agnes Alexiusson, with the decision to pull her out of the decider being made this morning by team management.
The world champion will receive a silver medal by default, with Mira Potkonen of Finland taking gold.
An OFI statement reads:
"On the final day of the competition at the European Games a decision has been made to withdraw Kellie Harrington from her final fight in the Women’s Light -60kg today due to injury. Harrington sustained a hand injury in the semi-final bout with Agnes Alexiusson from Sweden, and she has been deemed unfit to box.
"Every attempt was made by the medical staff to manage the injury to her right thumb, to give Harrington an opportunity to compete, but this morning the decision was made that she would be withdrawn. Harrington will receive the silver medal in the Women’s Light -60kg today, and now all attention will be placed on Kurt Walker who is competing for the gold medal in the Men’s Bantam at 11.30 Irish time."
“It’s been a fantastic competition for Kellie,” commented Performance Director Bernard Dunne, “it’s unfortunate this injury has arisen, but the right decision has been made that she doesn’t compete. It is unfortunate that hand injuries are part and parcel of boxing, but we need to manage it the right way to ensure a quick return to action.
“Kellie has Europeans and Worlds before the year is out and upcoming Olympic qualification events that we are looking forward to. In making this decision we had to take in the big picture to ensure that we don’t further injure the hand. Our focus is now on Kurt.”
Harrington added, “I’m disappointed to not be competing but I understand that there’s a bigger picture to be taken into account. It would be too much of a risk to go in there and have another setback. I totally respect the advice of the medical staff and the decision of the Performance Director.
While I’m disappointed, I’m still going to be there for Kurt my teammate, as captain. It’s been an honour to be captain of this boxing team, and I’m going to be cheering him on and I am can’t wait to watch our team collect their medals, and I will carry my silver medal with pride.
“I’m looking forward to getting home, recovering and getting back at it as soon as possible. We came out here having had a fantastic training camp and were excited about testing ourselves against the best in Europe blocks, and we did that. It’s been a fantastic competition for the Irish boxing team and I’m going to continue to trust the team that’s supporting me.”
There will be no further comment until the final athletes have finished competition later today. Boxing and cycling is on the schedule, and the focus for the boxing team will be on Kurt Walker who is competing in the Final at 11:30 Irish time.
D-Day for Harrington and Walker in Minsk
With one silver and four bronze already in the bag, potentially two gold medals could be claimed today in the ring for Ireland at the European Games in Minsk.
World champion Kellie Harrington kicks it all off at 10:15am Irish time when she takes on Mira Potkonen of Finland in a mouth-watering decider.
Harrington is reigning world champion, while the 38-year-old Finn is European champion following last year’s triumph in Sofia.
Potkonen claimed Finland’s only medal in any sport at the Olympics Games in Rio when she conjured up a bronze three years ago, controversially beating outgoing champion Katie Taylor in the quarter-finals, and was a World Championships bronze medallist alongside Taylor in Astana the same year.
Harrington has never beaten Potkonen previously, falling twice to the Nordic veteran at the 2017 EU Championships and 2018 Europeans, since taking down Taylor in Rio.
Coming into the tournament climax, Harrington says: “I’m not a lone wolf, we’re a wolf pack. We are all here as a team, we’re all medalling and it’s fantastic. Irish boxing is well and truly alive.
“I’m in the final. I haven’t had a fight since February so to come out here now and be in a European final, this is what dreams are made of.
“I have I think nearly every medal now.
“This is just fantastic for a girl out of Dublin 1.”
Ireland’s reigning EU champion Kurt Walker fights Ukraine’s Mykola Butsenko in the bantamweight decider at 11:30am, in a rematch of their European Championship semi-final from two years ago, which Butsenko won on a unanimous points decision.
On that occasion on home soil, every judge gave the Ukrainian every round.
Butsenko claimed bronze in Almaty at the 2013 World Championships, with two European silvers coming his way in Minsk in 2013 and that one in Kharkiv two years ago, where he was beaten in the final by Britain’s Peter McGrail.
Walker has no fears however after his thrilling semi-final win over Scouser McGrail, with the British champ turned over on a tight and enthralling 3-2 split decision.
The 24-year-old from Lisburn has since added silver in the Commonwealth Games final last year in Gold Coast to that European bronze from 2017.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the coaches telling me my game plan honestly,” enthuses Walker.
“I wasn’t doing some things right which I should have been doing (in the semi-final), but I got the decision and I’m delighted.
“It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable.
“Four years ago, I was put out in the first fight and now I’m in the final.
“Hard work? It really does help.”
Elsewhere, Ireland will have interest in the velodrome for the final day of track cycling competition, that will include the four-event men’s omnium, while Lydia Boylan and Lydia Gurley compete in the women’s Madison.
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