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[h=1]Katie Taylor into Olympics following bye in China[/h] [h=4]Wednesday, 16 May 2012[/h]
Katie Taylor with her coach and father Peter
Ireland’s Katie Taylor has qualified for the London 2012 Olympics after receiving a walkover in her quarter-finals at the World Amateur Championships in China.
Taylor was due to meet Michaela Lacatus of Romania but she pulled out due to a neck injury, handing Taylor a bye into the semi-finals.
That, and the fact that Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan beat Estelle Mossely of France this morning, means Taylor is now London bound after taking one of the three European places on offer.
Taylor, who is aiming for her fourth AIBA World title in-a-row, will now meet Chorieva in Friday’s lightweight semi-final at around 8am Irish time.
"It's a dream come true, I just can't believe it really," an emotional Taylor told reporters. "It's just years and years of hard work really to get here, now I'm going to be an Olympian."
Taylor added that her qualification would make no difference to her ambition to win the world title again. "We'll enjoy this walkover today and this qualification but tomorrow it's back to focusing on the semi-finals," she said.
"It's important to go into the Olympics as the current world champion so that's going to be a huge motivation as well."
Her father and coach Peter, a former Irish amateur champion, was clearly moved by his daughter fulfilling her dream but was keen to stress her many achievements before women's boxing became an Olympic sport.
"I was proud of her long before this moment, she's had an amazing career and being an Olympian was never going to define who Katie was," he said.
Well done Katie
Katie Taylor with her coach and father Peter
Ireland’s Katie Taylor has qualified for the London 2012 Olympics after receiving a walkover in her quarter-finals at the World Amateur Championships in China.
Taylor was due to meet Michaela Lacatus of Romania but she pulled out due to a neck injury, handing Taylor a bye into the semi-finals.
That, and the fact that Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan beat Estelle Mossely of France this morning, means Taylor is now London bound after taking one of the three European places on offer.
Taylor, who is aiming for her fourth AIBA World title in-a-row, will now meet Chorieva in Friday’s lightweight semi-final at around 8am Irish time.
"It's a dream come true, I just can't believe it really," an emotional Taylor told reporters. "It's just years and years of hard work really to get here, now I'm going to be an Olympian."
Taylor added that her qualification would make no difference to her ambition to win the world title again. "We'll enjoy this walkover today and this qualification but tomorrow it's back to focusing on the semi-finals," she said.
"It's important to go into the Olympics as the current world champion so that's going to be a huge motivation as well."
Her father and coach Peter, a former Irish amateur champion, was clearly moved by his daughter fulfilling her dream but was keen to stress her many achievements before women's boxing became an Olympic sport.
"I was proud of her long before this moment, she's had an amazing career and being an Olympian was never going to define who Katie was," he said.
Well done Katie
