Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor
Statistics
Rated at	Lightweight
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Nationality	Ireland
Born	(1986-07-02) 2 July 1986[1] Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
Stance	Orthodox
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Amateur Championships 5 0 0 European Amateur Championships 6 0 0 European Union Amateur Championships 5 0 0 European Games 1 0 0 Total 18 0 0 Competitor for  Ireland Women's Boxing Olympic Games 2012 London 60 kg World Amateur Championships 2006 New Delhi 60 kg 2008 Ningbo 60 kg 2010 Barbados 60 kg 2012 Qinhuangdao 60 kg 2014 Jeju 60 kg European Games 2015 Baku 60 kg European Amateur Championships 2005 Tønsberg 60 kg 2006 Warsaw 60 kg 2007 Vejle 60 kg 2009 Mykolaiv 60 kg 2011 Rotterdam 60 kg 2014 Bucharest 60 kg European Union Amateur Championships 2008 Liverpool 60 kg 2009 Pazardzhik 60 kg 2010 Keszthely 60 kg 2011 Katowice 60 kg 2013 Keszthely 60 kg

Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish athlete who specialises in boxing. Boxing and training with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, she is the current Irish, European, World and Olympic Champion in the 60 kg division. Hugely popular in Ireland, she is credited with raising the profile of women's boxing at home and abroad. She has represented the Republic of Ireland in association football, and also played Gaelic football. Regarded as the outstanding Irish athlete of her generation,^[2] she was the flag bearer for Ireland at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, later boxing her way to an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division.^[3] Taylor was named Sportsperson of the Year at the 2012 People of the Year Awards in September 2012.^[4]

Biography

Taylor studied from 1999 until 2005 at St. Kilian's Community School in Bray, County Wicklow. Katie was an academic, capable student by any standards and her high Leaving Cert points reflected that. Her two older brothers, Peter and Lee, and older sister, Sarah, also attended St. Kilian's. Taylor still lives in Bray. She is a born again Christian and attends St. Mark's Church on Pearse Street, Dublin.^[5] She is the youngest in her family. Her mother's name is Bridget Taylor and her father's name is Peter Taylor. Katie also has a fondness for the Irish language and appeared on Bernard Dunne's TV program ' Bród Club ' promoting Irish.

Boxing

Taylor started boxing in 1998, aged 11.

2005 | European Amateur Boxing Championship

Taylor's first noteworthy success was at the 2005 European Amateur Championships, in Tønsberg, Norway. She won the gold medal, defeating Eva Wahlström of Finland in the final of the 60 kg lightweight class.

2005 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

Later in 2005, at the World Amateur Championships in Podolsk, Russia, Taylor advanced to the quarter-finals in the 60 kg weight class. Here she lost against Kang Kum-Hui, who remains the only boxer to have defeated Taylor at the World Championships.

2006 | European Amateur Boxing Championship

At the 2006 European Amateur Championships in Warsaw, Poland, Taylor won her second successive gold medal by stopping reigning world champion Tatiana Chalaya of Russia, also collecting the tournament's Best Boxer award.

2006 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

At the 2006 World Women's Boxing Championship, contested in New Delhi, India, Taylor became Ireland's first World Champion, defeating Chalaya again in the semi-final and then Erica Farias of Argentina in the 60 kg final.

2007 | European Amateur Boxing Championship

In 2007, she won her third successive European Championship title in Denmark.^[6]

2008 | Women's European Union Amateur Boxing Championships

2008 saw Taylor win her first European Union gold medal, contested in August in Liverpool, England. Here she defeated Cindy Orain of France.

2008 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

Taylor went on to claim her second World title at the 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, contested in November at Ningbo, China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated China's Cheng Dong in the final match which was her 100th bout.^[7]

2009 | Entering the Public Eye

On 21 March 2009 at The Dublin O2, Taylor won a 27–3 win over three-time Pan-American champion Caroline Barry of the United States on the undercard of a pro WBA super bantamweight world title fight between Bernard Dunne of Ireland and Ricardo Cordoba of Panama. Speaking after the fight, Taylor, who had stopped Barry in the final of the 2006 World Championships in New Delhi, said she was stunned by the welcome she received from Irish boxing fans. She said: "I couldn't believe the reception I got – it was an amazing experience for me. I knew it was going to be a tough fight and well done to her for never backing off."

2009 | Russian Multi-Nations

Taylor won gold at the Russian Multi-Nations event at the Sports Palace in St Petersburg in July 2009 chalking up her 39th consecutive victory – and her 60th win in her last 61 bouts.^[8] She also went on to win her fourth successive European Championship title in September 2009 in Ukraine without conceding a point.^[9] She picked up another gold medal at the 2010 European Union Championships in Hungary

2009 | Women's European Union Amateur Boxing Championships

Taylor defended her European Union title in 2009. She beat home favourite, Bulgaria's Denitsa Elisayeva, in the July tournament hosted in Pazardzhik.

2010 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

On 18 September 2010, Taylor went on to claim her third successive World title at the 2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, in Barbados. In the 60 kg weight class, she again defeated China's Cheng Dong in the final match.^[10] This was Taylor's 100th career win.

2011 | EU Women Boxing Championships

Taylor won the Gold Medal at the EU Women Boxing Championships in Katowice, Poland in 2011.^[11][12]

2012 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

On 19 May 2012, Taylor won her fourth successive World title at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, in Qinhuangdao China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated Russian southpaw Sofya Ochigava.^[13]

2012 | Summer Olympics

Taylor (in red) boxes at the Olympics

Taylor qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the first time women's boxing had been considered for inclusion. Crowds gathered on the streets of her hometown Bray to watch her progress on giant screens erected especially for the occasion.^[14] Coddle released a single called "Katie Taylor Ireland's Boxing Legend".^[15] The song reaches number 42 in the Irish Charts.

Taylor's first appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics came on 6 August, after a first round bye. She achieved an impressive 26-15 victory (R1: 5-2. R2: 5-5, R3: 9-4, R4: 7-4) over Great Britain's Natasha Jonas, booking her place in the semi final and guaranteeing her, at least, an Olympic bronze medal.^[16][17] Fans of Taylor produced record noise levels at the Olympics.^[18]

In the semi-final on 8 August 2012, she proved far too good for Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva and won in a 17-9 victory (R1: 3-1, R2: 4-2, R3: 6-3, R4: 4-3), booking her place in the final and guaranteeing her, at least, an Olympic silver medal.^[19][20]

Taylor defeated Russia's Sofya Ochigava in the final bout by 10-8 (R1: 2-2; R2: 1-2; R3: 4-1; R4: 3-3) on 9 August 2012, winning an Olympic gold medal, and becoming the first ever Olympic female lightweight champion.^[21][22]

On her return to Dublin with the rest of the Olympic squad she got into the cockpit of the plane and leaned out the window waving an Irish flag.^[23]

2014 | AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships

On 24 November 2014, Taylor won her fifth straight lightweight title in South Korea at the 2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, defeating Yana Allekseevna of Azerbaijan.^[24][25] The final scoreline was 40-36, 39-37, 39-37 in her favour.^[26]

2015 | European Games

On 27 June 2015, Taylor won the lightweight title in Azerbaijan at the inaugural European Games, defeating Estelle Mosely of France.^[27] The final scoreline was 36-40 36-40 37-39 in her favour.^[27]

Association football

As well as boxing, Taylor has been interested in association football since she was a little girl. She scored on her debut at under–9 level. She played on the Saint Feargals team that won the under–11 league and cup double. Taylor was also a member of the Wicklow and District Schoolboys League (WDSL) county team that were runners-up in the 1999 under–12 Euro-Tab Inter-League competition. Taylor scored the winner in the Shield decider for Newtown against Greystones United in extra time at Finn Park in Kilcoole that same season. In 2000 she became the first girl to play at the SFAI under–13 Kennedy Cup in Limerick and was later crowned WDSL player of the year. She also played international underage football for Ireland at under–17 and under–19 levels.^[28]

Taylor graduated to the Ireland women's senior football team, making her debut against Switzerland at Richmond Park in April 2006.^[29] Noel King continued to select Taylor and she scored in the opening UEFA 2009 qualifying round win over Hungary on 1 April 2007. She scored again and was sent off in a 4–1 loss in Italy on 16 February 2008.^[30] In September 2009 she came on as sub for Ireland against Kazakhstan, days after winning the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Ukraine.^[31]

At club level Taylor played in the Dublin Womens Soccer League for Lourdes Celtic and St James's Gate.^[32] She then signed for Peamount United but stepped back from football to concentrate on boxing after competing in the 2010 FAI Women's Cup final, in which Peamount beat Salthill Devon 4–2 at Tolka Park.

After winning her Olympic gold medal in 2012, there was speculation that Taylor would quit boxing in order to return to football. When Taylor was linked with English FA WSL champions Arsenal, her father Pete reported that several football clubs were interested in securing her playing services.^[33]

Taylor is a Leeds United supporter, as a result of her Yorkshire–born father.^[34]

Gaelic football

Taylor also played Gaelic football with her local GAA club Fergal Óg of Bray and, on a few brief occasions, with Bray Emmets Under-14.

As for her preferred sport, "I love playing for Ireland, and I love football, but when it comes down to it I would choose boxing as my number one sport as I'd miss it too much if I wasn't involved."

Television

In 2002, at the age of 15, she appeared on RTÉ's Sport Stream and discussed her dream of one day appearing at the Olympics.^[35]

She was a coach on RTÉ's Charity Lords of the Ring in 2009.

Taylor appeared in a Lucozade Sport advertisement in 2011 alongside English rapper Tinie Tempah and American musician Travis Barker.

Memoir

Taylor's "illustrated memoir", with which she was helped by The Irish Times sports-writer, Johnny Watterson and titled My Olympic Dream, was published by Simon & Schuster for the 2012 Christmas market.^[36] It won the 2012 Irish Book Award in the "Irish Sports Book" category.^[37]

Awards and honours

Taylor won her second International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Female Boxer of the Year award at a ceremony in Almaty, Kazakhstan in November 2010.^[38]

In December 2014, Taylor was awarded The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council ‘Sportswoman of the Year 2014’ for her exceptional achievement in winning a record breaking sixth European title and her fifth consecutive world title.^[39]

See also

• List of flag bearers for Ireland at the Olympics

References

External links

• Pictures of Katie Taylor's glittering career
• Katie Taylor's Olympic gold in images
• Katie Taylor's Official website
• Katie Taylor's Facebook Fan Page
• Katie Taylor's Official Twitter

Olympic Games
Preceded by Ciara Peelo	Flagbearer for  Ireland London 2012	Succeeded by Incumbent