Evening report from Team Ireland on Day 11 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
AUGUST 3rd, 2021: There was big excitement in Tokyo this evening as Team Ireland boxer, Aidan Walsh, officially received his Olympic bronze medal for the Men’s Welter (63-69kg).
Having made his Olympic debut at this year’s Games, the Belfast boxer was thrilled to finish with a coveted Olympic medal: “When I walked into the club at eight years of age, seeing the Olympic signs, I always dreamt of being an Olympian… To every kid out there, just keep dreaming. Never ever stop dreaming. A few years ago, I was thinking of packing boxing in and I’m standing here now as an Olympic medallist, so never, ever give up, never stop dreaming.”
Elsewhere, there was a super start to Ireland’s Show Jumping campaign today with all three Irish athletes jumping clear rounds inside the time allowed in the Individual Qualifier to claim their place in tomorrow’s Individual Final.
Over at the Olympic Stadium meanwhile, it was a 7th place finish in the Men’s 200m semi-finals for Leon Reid in a time of 20.54 – just 0.01 slower than his Season’s Best from this morning.
ATHLETICS
It was a 7th place finish in the Men’s 200m semi-finals for Leon Reid at the Olympic Stadium this evening, in a time of 20.54. With just two automatic qualifiers, and two time qualifiers, he would have needed a huge national record to progress to the final.
In his second race of the day, having qualified as a time qualifier from this morning’s heats, Reid lined up in lane 3 – with the former world champion, Ramil Guliyev of Turkey in the lane outside him. It was a blistering start for the Irishman, taking ground out of Guliyev in the first 50m, and he maintained that strong position until the halfway point. Hoping for his trademark strong finish, he just fell slightly off his competitors in the final 50m, his time just 0.01 slower than his Season’s Best from this morning.
“That was the plan, to pick up the first 50m a lot quicker, and kick off the bend but I didn’t quite have the kick. I had the first bit, not the second bit,” he reflected afterwards. “The time is decent enough, but obviously I want to go quicker. I want to be around PB shape, which I am, it just hasn’t come off today.”
Going from heats in the morning to a semi-final in the evening, Reid also spoke of the overwhelming support he’s received from Team Ireland supporters, saying “I had to turn my phone off when I got back to the hotel because everyone started waking up and traction picked up – it’s been amazing.”
BOXING
There was big excitement this evening as Team Ireland boxer, Aidan Walsh, received his bronze medal for the Men’s Welter. Walsh, who had to withdraw from the semi-final on Sunday due to injury, was thrilled to have made it to the podium at his debut Games.
“It’s unbelievable. I just feel extremely lucky, extremely blessed, extremely grateful to be even standing here. It’s something that I always watched – Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Hugh Russell, Jim McCourt and all the guys coming away with medals from the Olympic Games. It’s amazing – from Belfast, Belfast being such a small place, and to be part of such a small group. I’m lost for words, it’s something that just means so much to me. It’s incredible.
Looking back to the decision to withdraw from Sunday’s semi-final he continued, “To be honest, we tried everything we could to get into the ring. We waited until the last minute to try and get in there, and Bernard just said it was physically impossible to get in there. I wanted to – obviously every competitor wants to go right to the end – but it just wasn’t to be. I’m standing here with a medal and I’m so grateful, so lucky.
“To every kid out there, just keep dreaming. Never ever stop dreaming. When I walked into the club at eight years of age, seeing the Olympic signs, I always dreamt of being an Olympian. Anyone listening out there, no matter what it is – not even boxing or sport – dream as big as you can, don’t be afraid and never give up. A few years ago, I was thinking of packing boxing in and I’m standing here now as an Olympic medallist, so never, ever give up, never stop dreaming. Picture yourself doing it over and over again until you get it and just enjoy every minute of it.”
With his sister Michaela on hand every step of the way, he added: “The support my sister gives me is incredible and likewise, me to her. We’re a team. It’s unfortunate obviously that she didn’t come back with a medal but, at the end of the day, she’ll be sharing this medal with me. I would happily cut the ribbon in half, cut the medal in half and give it to her, because she deserves so much - likewise with a lot of people on that team, the whole team. I am one of the lucky ones at the minute and hopefully Kellie can go all the way now and win gold.”