Kellie Harrington, Amy Broadhurst and Tina Desmond win gold for Ireland

Ireland's Amy Broadhurst beat Germany’s Leonie Muller to claim her second successive gold medal at the Strandja Memorial boxing tournament in Sofia.

Sean McGoldrick

February 26 2023 03:19 PM

Ireland has claimed three gold medals at the Strandja Memorial boxing tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Olympic champion Kellie Harrington, World champion Amy Broadhurst and European silver medallist Tina Desmond all won their respective finals on unanimous 5-0 decisions in a tournament which is rated as the most prestigious in the world outside championship boxing.

Arguably the most significant of the hat-trick of victories was achieved by World and European light welterweight champion Amy Broadhurst.

After losing to Gráinne Walsh in the IABA Elite welterweight final last month in the welterweight there were doubts over her decision to compete in the higher weight division even though it is an Olympic category.

But she fashioned four excellent wins in Sofia whereas Walsh was beaten in the first round.

Among those the Dundalk native defeated was 2022 welterweight World silver medallist Charlie Cavanagh from Canada and China’s Lui Yang, a former World silver medallist at light middleweight.

In today’s final Broadhurst beat Germany’s Leonie Muller to claim her second successive gold medal in the tournament.

Olympic champion Kellie Harrington also picked up another gold medal at the tournament.

Having opted to compete in the non-Olympic light welterweight category she received a bye into the semi-final. She beat France’s Fatia Benmessahel in the silver medal fight and accounted for Keono Sam-Sin from Holland in today’s final.

Like Harrington, Tina Desmond, a silver medallist at the European championships last year, also received a bye into the last four of her weight division. In the light middleweight final she beat Barbara Marcinkowska from Poland.

Waterford’s Kelyn Cassidy (light heavyweight ) won a bronze medal so Ireland bring home four medals from Bulgaria.