LAST UPDATE | 31 Aug 2019
ROSCOMMON’S AOIFE O’ROURKE has won a gold medal at the European Elite Women’s Boxing Championships in Madrid.
O’Rourke, a product of Castlerea Boxing Club, earned a unanimous-decision victory over tricky Polish southpaw Elziebta Wojcik in Saturday’s 75kg final, taking a thrilling encounter on scores of 29-28 x4 and 30-27 to conquer the continent at middleweight.
The 22-year-old lost a tight opening round in the eyes of four of the five judges, but powered to the final bell to ensure she wouldn’t be denied top spot on the podium in the Spanish capital.
O’Rourke is only the second-ever female Irish fighter to have won gold at a European Elite Championships, Katie Taylor naturally being the first.
What a moment - the magnificent middleweight Aoife O'Rourke is European champion after one of the great, great performances #IrishBoxing #Roscommon pic.twitter.com/aHID5jsHFl
— Kevin Byrne (@KevByrneBox) August 31, 2019
In a bout during which skill went out the window on occasion, sheer force of will won out for O’Rourke.
She had displayed no shortage of the former in her sensational semi-final upset of Russian Youth Olympic and World Youth champion Anastasia Shamonovathe, but in the 75kg decider, Poland’s Wojcik did her utmost to smother O’Rourke’s offensive onslaught.
Wojcik was warned with an almost farcical frequency for holding as the westerner poured forward with winging shots, pounding the body when Wojcik grabbed hold of her head.
In the end, though, O’Rourke simply mowed her down.
The second and third rounds were nightmarish for the Pole as her Irish adversary chased her into the corners, finding flesh wherever humanly possible and still retaining some nuance in her attack; a number of tidy straight right hands jarred the head of Wojcik and drew a cacophony of yelps from O’Rourke’s red corner.
Though she was adjudged to have edged the first, Wojcik’s best spell arrived in the first 20 seconds of the second stanza, a couple of sharp combinations catching O’Rourke flat-footed.
It did little to stop the Castlerea BC operator’s belligerent pursuit of European glory, however. Whether on the outside or the inside, O’Rourke threw with abandon, showing extraordinary aerobic fitness to power toward the final bell unperturbed.
Upon hearing the words ‘unanimous decision’, the Irish corner — and especially head coach Zaur Antia — jumped for joy.
The words which succeeded them, ‘the fighter in the red corner’, drew tears from O’Rourke, who has emerged as the newest star in the Irish boxing galaxy.
Ireland sent only four fighters to these Europeans, with Dundalk’s Amy Broadhurst also picking up bronze at lightweight (60kg) — this in the absence of the injured Kellie Harrington.
Cavan’s Ceire Smith and Cork’s Christina Desmond both also fought excellent tournaments, each bowing out just a round shy of the medal stage.
President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins saluted Irish boxing’s latest medal winners in a statement on Twitter.
“My heartfelt congratulations to Aoife O’Rourke on winning gold, and to Amy Broadhurst on winning the bronze medal, at the European Elite Women’s Boxing Championships in Madrid,” he said.
Ireland’s only other female European champion, Katie Taylor, added: “Incredible stuff Aoife, huge congratulations!!”
