Olympian, Aoife O’Rourke, has been crowned the middleweight champion of the 73rd Strandja International Tournament.
She won a unanimous decision against her opponent in the final, Atheyna Bylon of Panama, showing her dominance over the taller southpaw. Bylon, a former AIBA Women’s World Champion, was given a standing count in the second round.
The judges final scores: 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
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Olympian Aoife O’Rourke is the middleweight champion of the 73rd Strandja International Tournament, following a unanimous decision win over Atheyna Bylon of 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/BO2NqvizvS
In the afternoon session, Kellie Harrington claimed the lightweight gold.
The 32 year old Dublin woman, the Tokyo Olympic champion, put in a strong, dominant performance against Serbia’s Natalia Shadrina in a strongly contested bout.
The final judges scores were: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 .
The Strandja Memorial is Europe’s oldest international boxing tournament and, having first been staged in Sofia in 1950. This year, podium finishers earn prize money, and can earn new world ranking points.
The tournament continues on Sunday, although Irish interest is ended. It is being streamed by the IBA on its YouTube channel:
Team Ireland Squad:
F48kg Shannon Sweeney
F50kg Caitlin Fryers
F52kg Carly McNaul
F57kg Michaela Walsh
F60kg Kellie Harrington
F70kg Christina Desmond
F75kg Aoife O’Rourke
57kg Adam Hession
60kg JP Hale
63.5kg Dean Clancy
67kg Eugene McKeever
71kg Luke Maguire
80kg Kelyn Cassidy
92kg+ Thomas Maughan
Team Ireland Head Coach, Zaur Antia, and John Conlan, in the corner during today’s finals.
Kellie Harrington has claimed the lightweight gold at the 73rd Strandja International Tournament.
The 32 year old Dublin woman, the Tokyo Olympic champion, but in a strong, dominant performance against Serbia’s Natalia Shadrina in a strongly contested bout.
The final judges scores were: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 .
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Tokyo Olympic lightweight champ, Kellie Harrington wins 🥇 at the 73rd Strandja International Tournament in a unanimous decision over Natalia Shadrina of 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/bxTbOsEZgw
