Walsh: boxing quintet hold Ireland’s best Olympic hopes

THE five-man boxing team hold Ireland’s best chance of a medal — or medals — at this year’s Olympic Games according to team manager, Jim Walsh.

There was an air of confidence about the Bruree man as he sang the praises of the what is the biggest boxing team to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games in 10 years, at the OCI headquarters in Howth.

There was just one Irish boxer competing in Sydney in 2000 when Michael Roche represented the country and again in Athens four years ago when another middleweight, Andy Lee, was the lone crusader.

But all that has changed thanks to light flyweight Paddy Barnes, bantamweight John Joe Nevin, light welter John Joe Joyce, middleweight Darren Sutherland and light heavyweight Kenneth Egan, who battled their way through the various qualification routes that took in places as far apart as Chicago, Pescara and Athens..

“To qualify for the Olympics these days is a major achievement in itself,” Walsh insisted. “But once you get to the Games you always have a chance of a medal because you have come through a very difficult process.

“I have no hesitation in stating any one of those boxers is capable of winning a medal for Ireland next August.”

Obviously athletics team manager Patsy McGonagle has a particular interest in marathon runner, Martin Fagan, who will compete in the national championships next month to prove his fitness after what has been a traumatic period for him since he achieved the qualifying standard in the Dubai Marathon.

“His preparations have been interrupted since he qualified,” McGonagle said. “He has been so unfortunate. Regardless of the issues with his visa he has had a lot of trouble with injury since Dubai and my concern right now is to get him to the start line in one piece. Despite his problems he is very focused and his training is going extremely well.”

The Mullingar man — one of three Mullingar athletes on the Irish team along with John Joe Nevin and John Joe Joyce — was given a grant of €10,000 by the Olympic Council of Ireland after he achieved the qualifying standard in Dubai and returned to his training base in Flagstaff, Arizona, when he got his visa problems sorted out.

But McGonagle was not overly enthusiastic about the hopes for the Irish track and field team, pointing out that they may not have quite built on their performances at the world championships in Osaka last year.

“Let’s face it, Osaka was outstanding and expectations were raised after that,” he said. “We got performances there that we could never have anticipated or expected and — being realistic — it could be perceived by some that we have not built on those performances.”

But Joanne Cuddihy, who has been injured recently, showed no adverse affects of the relay run in the European Cup at the weekend and returned to full training yesterday and that was good news.

And there is a glimmer of hope for the men’s 4 x 400m relay team who are 18th and just 0.19secs off qualification.

“When I got confirmation of this from the IAAF I immediately sent an email to the promoters of the Salamanca meet with a view to getting a lane but it all depends on the availability of David Gillick,” said McGonagle.

“So far he has given us 110% but he has his own personal agenda and I know he is committed to Madrid so I will have to talk to him personally and his coach Nick Deakin. I will be including Brian Gregan in the squad with a view to giving him a start but, obviously, without David Gillick we won’t be going to Salamanca.”