KATIE TAYLOR WAS welcomed back to her hometown of Bray yesterday after her gold medal performance in London.
It remains unclear however, if the four-time world champion will be in Rio to defend her crown.
High performance chief Billy Walsh says the decision on her future, is up to Taylor herself.
“It’s purely a decision for her and her father,” Walsh said at Dublin airport yesterday. “I’ve spoken to her myself and she’s very happy with what we’ve delivered for her as a programme. She has challenges to face. She’s done everything as an amateur.
“Will she be motivated to come back and repeat it? There’s always that offer to go and do that. We’ll be supporting her 100%. The Irish Sports Council are behind her 100% to get her there. Whatever it takes to get her there,” he added.
Walsh meanwhile led a boxing team checking in four medals in total back to Dublin. And the Wexford man says these are glory days for Irish amateur boxing.
One of the days, we were on the bus,” he told TheScore.ie, “Paddy [Barnes] had a won a bronze medal and none of the boys hardly congratulated him. It’s wonderful that we’re only getting excited about gold or silver. That’s why even when he the medal in Beijing he said that bronze medals are for losers.
“We strive to be the best we can be and we strive to win those gold medals. We want to come out on top of the podium, we want to hear Amhrán na bhFiann be played and that tricolour be raised. The boys are not happy if they don’t do that.”
