History made: Team Ireland win 3 World Youth Golds. - Irish Athletic Boxing Association

Team Ireland will return from the World Youth Championships in Budva, Montenegro, with 3 gold medals – and have finished the tournament in joint 4th place, out of 78 nations, with China.

66kg Kyla Doyle, of Whitechurch BC stepped between the ropes to contest for gold against Kazakhstan’s Uldana Taubay. Kyla was utterly dominant from the off, forcing several 10-8 rounds for her opponent. The reigning European champion added to her tally of 2024 benchmark golds when her hand was raised and a 5-0 victory declared. The judges scored the bout 26:30; 26:30; 27:30; 25:30; 26:30.

Yesterday, Team Ireland’s Siofra Lawless and Adam Olaniyan made it two-for-two on the first of two days of finals.

Siofra, who boxes out of Four Kings BC in Wicklow, took on Korea’s A Sin Pak for the 63kg title. Siofra’s ringcraft held her in good stead throughout the bout and she increased the scoring gap on her opponent with each successive rounds, relying on agility and a strong leading hand jab. Her hand was raised as the 4-1 winner. Judges scored the bout 30:27; 28:29; 30:27; 30:27; 30: 27. This is Siofra’s second World medal in under a year – she won World Junior gold at the championships in Yerevan, Armenia in December of 2023.

Adam, of Jobstown BC, contested the last bout of the day against Asian champion, Uzbekistan’s Shakzod Polvonov. Adam’s height advantage told from the off and, while his opponent was skillful, Adam superior accuracy, speed and tactical ability won the day on a 5-0 decision. The final scores were 30:27; 29:28; 29:28; 30:27; 30:27. Team Captain Adam is also the reigning European Youth champion at the weight

This is an incredible and historic achievement at World Youth level for Team Ireland. Congratulations to Siofra, Adam and Kyla, their clubs, their families and their local communities.

While 60kg Kayleigh Whelan, 57kg Jamie Graham and 60kg Martin McDonagh all exited the tournament to the eventual champions.