O’Rourke Claims Ireland’s Second Gold At Strandja

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.

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

Day One results are here

Day Two results are here

Day Three results are here

Day Four results are here

Day Five results are here

Day Six results are here

Day Seven, session 25 A results:

Day Seven session 26 B results