Dominant Lisa O'Rourke secures gold in Sofia 

GOLDEN GIRL: Lisa O'Rourke of Ireland celebrates. Pic: IBA via Sportsfile

Lisa O’Rourke retained her European U22 light-middleweight crown in style in Sofia on Saturday.

The Castlerea ace, who won World Championship gold in 2022 in Istanbul, overpowered Daya Letsko in the 70kgs final at the Sofia Sports Hall.

The ringside arbitrators concurred with O’Rourke, fighting out of the blue corner, having her hand raised and grabbing Ireland’s first gold of these Championships.

O’Rourke took a firm hold of the bout from the outset and Letsko would have no match for the bunches of punches raining in from the Roscommon woman.

O’Rourke, having already accounted for Serbia’s Anastasia Lukajic in a quarter-final, defeated Poland’s Barbara Marcinkowska in a semi-final, taking a clean sweep of 30-26 cards from the judges in that one.

O’Rourke missed out on a place at the Olympic Games this year with the IABA giving Grainne Walsh the ticket to Paris at welterweight.

Letsko, from Belarus and fighting under the IBA banner, couldn’t respond to the sheer volume unloaded by O’Rourke.

In the final minute of the third round, O’Rourke landed a big right on Letsko just to confirm what was already inevitable.

Having had some injury troubles, O’Rourke earned a clean sweep from the judges to take gold in style.

Earlier on Saturday, Oakleaf BC minimumweight Carleigh Irving secured a silver medal, losing out to Turkey’s Nursselen Yalgattekin in the 48kgs final.

On Sunday, 48kgs Louis Rooney and 54kgs Patsy Joyce will go for gold in finals while Robyn Kelly, Clepson dos Santos, Bobbi Flood and Martin McDonagh have won bronze medals.