Rio 2016 Olympian David Oliver Joyce with Irish team manager Joe Hennigan today
David Oliver Joyce qualified for Rio 2016 following an edge-of-the-side box-off thriller with Turkey’s Volkan Gokcek on the final day of the 39-nation European Olympic qualifiers in Samsun, Turkey this afternoon.
The St Michael’s Athy BC man, one of the great servants of the sport in Ireland, beat the Turkish lightweight on a split decision to realise what he described as his dream of becoming an Olympian.
Joyce took the first round, but Gokcek claimed the second before Ireland’s three-time EU champion pulled out all the stops – and the proverbial kitchen sink – to nail the third frame and join his Irish team mates Brendan Irvine, who also qualified in Samsun, Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward on the plane to the 31st Olympiad.
Katie Taylor has her hand raised in victory today
Olympic champion Katie Taylor also won today on the good day for Irish lightweights. Taylor took all four rounds to post a convincing unanimous decision over Bulgarian southpaw Svetlana Staneva in the box-off for third and fourth place.
Joyce, Irvine and Taylor will be bringing home three bronze medals from Samsun, with Irvine and Joyce also qualifying for Rio 2016.
Team Ireland are due to arrive home from Turkey via Dublin Airport at 3.35pm tomorrow, April 18th, afternoon. Flight TK 1977 (Terminal 1).
European Olympic Qualifiers Samsun, Turkey
April 9th
Preliminaries
64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) beat Erik Agataljan (Czech Republic) 3-0
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) beat Simen Nysater (Norway) 3-0
April 11th
Last 16
51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) beat Virginia Barankas (Hungary) 3-0
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Hamza Touba (Germany) 3-0
64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) lost to Lorenzo Sotomayor (Azerbaijan) 1-2
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Martina Schmoranzova (Czech Republic) 3-0
75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) beat Nouchka Fontijan (Netherlands) 2-0
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) lost to Mahammadrausl Majidor (Azerbaijan) 0-3
April 12th
Last 16
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Otar Eranosyan (Georgia) 3-0
75kg Michael O’Reilly (Ireland) lost to Ilari Kijala (Finland) 0-3
91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) beat Gabriel Richards (Sweden) TKO1
April 13th
Q/Finals
51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) lost to Tetyna Kob (Ukraine) 1-2
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Ellie Konki (France) 2-1
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Yvonne Rasmussen (Denmark) 3-0
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Vazgen Sufaryants (Belarus) 3-0
75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) lost to Petra Scatmari (Hungary) 0-3
91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) lost to Abdulkadir Abdullayev (Azerbaijan) 1-2
April 15th
S/Finals
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) lost to Narek Abgaryan (Armenia) 0-3
52kg Muhammad Ali (Great Britain) beat Daniel Asenov (Bulgaria) 3-0
(Abargyan, Ali and Irvine qualify for Rio)
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) lost to Yana Alexseevna (Azerbaijan) 0-3
60kg Svetlana Staneva (Bulgaria) lost to Irma Tessa (Italy) 1-2
(Alexseevna and Tessa qualify for Rio. Taylor finishes third, Staneva fourth)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) lost to Joe Cordina (Great Britain) 0-3
60kg Sofiane Oumiha (France) beat Volkan Gokcek (Turkey) 3-0
(Cordina,Oumiha and Joyce qualify for Rio)
April 16th
Box-off for Rio 2016 place
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Daniel Asenov (Bulgaria) 3-0
April 17th
Box off for Rio 2016 place
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Volkan Gokcek (Turkey) 2-1
Box off for 3rd and 4th position
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Svetlana Staneva (Bulgaria) 3-0
Irish squad
Female
51kg Ceire Smith (Cavan)
60kg Katie Taylor (Bray)
75kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgans)
Male
52kg Brendan Irvine (St Pauls)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (AIBA Pro Boxing)
64kg Dean Walsh (St Joesphs/St Ibars)
75kg Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)
91kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)
91+kg Dean Gardiner (Clonmel)
Team manager: Joe Hennigan
Coaches: Zaur Antia, Eddie Bolger, John Conlan
Physiotherapist: Julianne Ryan
Sports Psychologist: Gerry Hussey
Doctor: Jim Clover
Performance Analyst: Alan Swanton