‘I just knew it was Katie’s destiny to be Olympic champion’

Katie Taylor’s father and trainer Peter has insisted he stayed calm throughout his daughter’s heart-stopping Olympic final win as he knew it was her destiny to win gold.

However, he said winning the lightweight boxing crown in front of thousands of Irish fans was beyond his wildest dreams.

“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “What can you say, with all this support from everybody?

“I dreamed about it but you don’t think it would be winning an Olympic gold medal in front of all that Irish support.”

Mr Taylor said he was confident that his daughter would prevail, even when she went behind on points.

“The most relaxed we were in the whole competition was the final.

“When we went a point down, I just knew Katie was going to come through. I knew it was her destiny to be Olympic champion.”

He said he was always proud of Katie, 26, whom he has trained throughout her career. “I was proud of her well before this, but what can you say now? She was unbelievable.”

One of the many fans in the stadium was the CEO of Horse Sport Ireland, Damian McDonald.

“I have never been to a sporting occasion with as much atmosphere as this. And to see so many Irish people here is incredible.

“It is an unbelievable achievement to win an Olympic gold medal. And with so many Irish here it would be hard to surpass this,” he said.

Just 24 hours earlier Mr McDonald had been cheering showjumper Cian O’Connor to bronze in an exciting jump-off at Greenwich Park. “It has been a phenomenal few days with Cian and now this. But these are two very different occasions.

“The noise here in the ExCel is ear shattering yet you could hear a pin drop at Greenwich on Wednesday at the showjumping.”

The ExCel’s chaotic stands were already a heaving patchwork quilt of green, white, and orange when Katie’s win was confirmed. After hugging her Russian opponent Sofya Ochigava, Katie embraced her father and saluted her fans. She then unfurled a Tricolour and draped it over her shoulders, prompting more bedlam in the crowd.

Irish boxing hero Barry McGuigan hugged Katie as she left the ring. Afterwards, the ‘Clones Cyclone’, with tears in his eyes, also paid tribute to the fans.

“You’ve been incredible,” he said on the microphone, speculating there was nobody left back in Ireland.

Later McGuigan said the atmosphere was like nothing he had experienced before, even when winning his world title. “I don’t even think it was like that with me. It certainly surpassed any noise that I have heard before. It was incredible.”

Also in the arena was Ireland’s 1992 boxing gold medallist Michael Carruth.

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