This article is from page 60 of the 2011-03-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 60 JPG
TEENAGERS Kayleigh McCormack and Sally Carrig (left) were Clare’s golden girls at the National Youth and Lady’s Boxing Championships in Dublin at the weekend.
Both boxers took home gold medals for Clare who had five competitors battling for glory at the National Stadium.
Coach Colum Flynn hailed the performances of Clare’s boxers, describing their appearances in the finals as a “great achievement”.
After defeating Lauren Smith from the South Meath club in the semi-final, McCormack (16) had too much for Ulster Champion Rosemary Doherty in the final of the 57 kg lady’s division.
The Kilfenora boxer overpowered her opponent from the Carndonagh club, racking up an impressive 3-0 points victory.
“She won the title last year and she is one of the best boxers around”, said Flynn.
Carrig (15), representing Ennis Boxing Club, was similarly impres- sive when she defeated Mayo’s Ciara Loftus 14-3 in the final of the 63 kg lady’s division.
Both girls were level at 3-3 after the first round. But Carrig showed her class to wrap up a convincing victory.
There was disappointment for Kayleigh’s cousin, Caoilinn Mc Cormack. Caoilinn, making her first appearance in the national championships, was beaten in the final by Helen Carty from Kilkenny.
“She’s definitely one for the future. She’s very sharp, a good boxer. She has very few flaws”, said Flynn.
After impressing in her 16-3 semifinal win over Katie Hyland, reigning champion Antoinette Keane (16) was defeated 6-1 by Louth’s Shani Just in the 63 kg final.
There was disappointment too for 16-year-old Lee Sherlock who lost to John Stokes from the Mulhuddart club in the 54 kg youths final.
Flynn said, “He had a good second round, he rallied a bit but Stokes came on very strong after that. He’ll (Sherlock) will definitely win a title in the next couple of years”.