A blast from the past
LAST week I came face to face with the man who ended my dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal.
In fact, Kenny Egan not only beat me in the semi-finals of the Beijing Games - meaning I had to settle for a bronze - he also defeated me in my last fight before the Olympics.
Fortunately, though, he's a good bloke and there were no hard feelings when I bumped into him at Sheffield.
I was at the English Institute for Sport for training and the Irish boxing team were also there. When I went into the canteen, Kenny was sat at one of the tables.
It was a bit weird at first but we've been at plenty of competitions down the years and he's a genuinely nice lad so it wasn't a problem and I went over to have a chat with him.
Up until this year I'd never actually fought Kenny but this summer he beat me in the final of the EU Championships in Poland, when I was struggling with injury, and in China.
I came across Kenny a few times in Beijing before we met in the ring and we'd wish each other luck for our respective fights.
Boxing's like a lot of sports - you might be trying to beat each other up once the bell goes, but outside of the ring most of us are good friends.
Kenny told me his life had been really hectic since the Olympics.
Loads of people in Sunderland seem to know who I am after Beijing and I only won a bronze medal.
Kenny got a silver and now everyone in Ireland seems to know who he is. He told me he was finding it hard to get back into the game and I know how he feels.
Neither of us are back sparring condition and when you've had the high of the Olympics it's hard to motivate yourself for the routine training sessions, particularly when you don't have a fight to aim for.
I've looked at the schedule coming up for the British amateur team and there are some exciting trips coming up, some to places I've never been to before.
But of course there's also the option of turning professional, which is something Kenny's considering too.
It's nine weeks now since the Olympics and I think people were expecting a rush of successful Olympic boxers turning pro straight after the Games but that just hasn't happened.
The thing is, turning pro isn't a quick process. You've got to get it right because once you sign that bit of paper you can't unsign it.
Everyone wants to make sure they're signed up with the right promoter and the right trainer if they're going to commit to the professional ranks and for us Brits there's the added complication that the 2012 Games will be in London. That's a massive attraction.
Older/Newer
« Ethical events for the budding Eco-ista | DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT... »
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: A blast from the past.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.journallive.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/92421
Blog Authors
Glove Affair - Olympic boxing medallist Tony Jeffries
Website
My postings |
My feed
Pauls Apart - The Journal's NUFC-mad Paul James and SAFC fanatic Paul Loraine go head to head
My postings |
My feed
Anna Heywood - Environment campaigner Anna Heywood writes on ethical living
My postings |
My feed
Brenda Boyd - the life and times of a morris dancer
My postings |
My feed
Karen Overbury - our homemaker editor writes and answers questions about property
My postings |
My feed
Zainab Radhi - on life after leaving Tyneside for Iraq
My postings |
My feed
Jon Half-Ironman - The Journal's Jon Tunney on training for the athletic event of his life
Find me on Facebook or Twitter
My postings |
MapMyRun
| My feed
Liz Lamb - talks about fashion
My postings |
My feed
Graeme Whitfield - The Journal's Graeme Whitfield takes you behind the headlines in his newsroom blog
My postings |
My feed
Write Said Fred - view from the pram with toddler Fred Telfer
My postings |
My feed
Tim Taylor - The Journal's Golf Blog Club
My postings |
My feed
Kasia Bobrzak - writes a blog for the Polish community
Website
My postings |
My feed
The Cheeky Winkle Adventures - Lily and Toby go Geocaching
My postings |
My feed
Will in Whitehall - The Journal's Political Editor on life at Westminster
My postings |
My feed
Adrian Pearson - The Journal's Regional Affairs Correspondent with a look behind the scenes of North East politics
My postings |
My feed
Mieka Smiles - our City Living columnist on the ups and downs of young married life
My postings |
My feed
Francesca Craggs - on tying the knot, tantrums and tiaras
My postings |
My feed
Hannah Davies - on life as a new mum
My postings |
My feed
David Matthews - on health and safety gone mad
My postings |
My feed
Alan Tilmouth - on birding in the North East
Website
My postings |
My feed
Mark Robertson - of the Northumberland Cheese Company on artisan food
My postings |
My feed
Marc Vargas - an exiled Catalonian writes about life in the North
My postings |
My feed
John Mackay - Local GP John Mackay writes about the NHS
My postings |
My feed
Tom Dodds - on transport matters
My postings |
My feed
David Brennan - from the website Enjoying Photography on taking good photos
My postings |
My feed
Malcolm Clarke - on life as a professional pool player
My postings |
My feed
Leave a comment