Katie Taylor: Ireland’s New Olympic Champion

Everyone has their own special memories of the wonderful 2012 Olympic Games in London, be it the achievements of Usain Bolt, Mo Farah or David Rudisha on the track, Michael Phelps in the swimming pool winning a record of 22 medals (18 gold), or Bradley Wiggins on the streets, but for Irish people it was the magnificent achievement of Katie Taylor in winning a gold medal for women’s boxing.

In Beijing in 2008, boxing was the only sport not open to women, and Katie Taylor had initiated a big campaign to have it included. As women’s boxing became more popular, the International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 for its inclusion in 2012. As European champion on five occasions and world champion on four, Katie Taylor was a favourite to win an Olympic gold medal and as a result carried huge expectations on her shoulders. Even before the final, USA boxing coach, Basheer Abdullah, in a tribute to her said : "Katie Taylor is going to go down as one the best boxers in history. Not just female boxers, the best boxers. She can do it all. She can box, she can fight, she is a true world champion."

Katie Taylor, aged 26 from Bray, County Wicklow, started dreaming of being an Olympic champion boxer at the age of ten. She devised a plan and strategy for herself and adhered to them with great perseverance and determination. On Thursday, August 9, 2012, in the ExCel Arena in London, she achieved her ambition by defeating Sofya Ochigava of Russia 10-8 in an enthralling lightweight final to win an Olympic gold medal. In victory, her modesty, humility, graciousness and deep Christian faith made big impressions. After speaking about how hard she trained from the age of ten, she said :

"And I serve an amazing God and without Him I wouldn’t be sitting with this medal around my neck. I am there but for the grace of God. I serve Him. I am nothing without Him."

Katie Taylor’s gold medal was only the ninth such medal to be won by Irish athletes since the country first competed as an independent nation in 1924. In addition to Katie, Irish athletes won four other Olympic medals in London, one silver by John Joe Nevin and two bronze by Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan for boxing, as well as a bronze medal by Cian O’Connor in showjumping. In all Olympic games, it is also important to remember and acknowledge the performances of all athletes, the vast majority of whom never end up on the winning podium (Ireland alone had 66 competitors in 14 events).

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).