Military drill for Olympic hopefuls

With his second Elite senior championship medal safely stashed away alongside world championship youth, junior and European senior gold medals, Joe Ward’s quest for Olympic qualification continues when he joins the other champions at an intensive training regime under Billy Walsh at The Curragh.

The military surrounds is a fitting setting as the seven remaining champions from Friday night’s final, who will be joined by the already qualified Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill, begin their preparations for a last shot at Olympic qualification in Trabzon on the shores of the Black Sea in April.

Ward has made no secret that his failure to qualify at the world championships in Baku last year has been “eating” at him ever since. But he also admitted it could well have been a blessing in disguise as he was able to learn from his mistakes.