GB Boxing’s women’s squad secures medal hat trick in Rotterdam

The GB Boxing women’s squad is celebrating its best ever medal haul at the European Championships after a spectacular final day of competition in Rotterdam. At one of three Olympic weight categories, Nicola Adams became the first British woman to win a major boxing title, taking gold at the championships with a 15:8 victory over French boxer Sarah Ourahmoune.

A member of the GB women’s squad, flyweight (51kg) Nicola remained cool under fire, as she found herself trailing by a point to Ourahmoune at the midway point.

The English starlet upped the pace and pressure in the third, which paid dividends as she took command of the bout with a session score line of 6:2.

Another change of tactics kept the French boxer looking for answers in the last round, which now saw Nicola box off the back foot, also taking the round 6:2 and a much coveted European gold in the process.

Twenty eight year old Nicola, from Leeds, said: “This means so much to me. Not only have I gained European gold, I have also earned myself valuable ranking points for next years World Championships, which act as the qualifier for the London Olympics.

“This is one of the highlights of my boxing career so far, but Olympic Gold is my real focus now.”

Middleweight (75kg) Savannah Marshall, from Hartlepool, had earlier bagged a bronze medal in Rotterdam after a tough semi-final bout and impressive championship overall.

Facing Dutch boxer Nouchka Fontun, who was backed by a vocal home crowd, 19-year-old Savannah was unlucky to lose 7:15.

Light-welterweight (64kg) Natasha Jonas also secured a bronze in Rotterdam after being narrowly outpointed in the semi-finals against Guizam Tatar.

After two superb performances earlier in the championships, 27-year-old Natasha went into the last round against her Turkish opponent one point adrift. Despite a big finish by the Liverpudlian, she went down 11:12 and took bronze.

The GB women’s squad boxers were joined in Rotterdam by England rookie Lisa Whiteside who exceeded expectations to take silver in the featherweight (57Kg) division.

In her debut international championship, Lisa, 25, from Preston, came desperately close to grabbing an unlikely gold but lost 14:15 to Natalalila Biriuk (Ukraine).

At the finals, Wales’ Lynsey Holdaway gave a typical gutsy performance before dropping a close 9:13 points decision to Russian Sveltlana Gnevanova in the under 48k final.

GB Boxing’s five strong women’s squad for the European Championship also included Nina Smith, 29, from Essex, who came agonisingly close to victory in the quarter finals of the competition.

With the bout even at its conclusion, the bantamweight (54Kg) eventually lost to Ayse Tas (Turkey) 8:8 with the count back score going against Nina.

Earlier in the competition, fellow GB women’s squad boxer Chantelle Cameron, from Northampton, missed out on a quarter final place at lightweight (60kg).

Despite a gutsy performance, Chantelle, 19, lost to Russian Sophia Ochigava 20:9.

GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken, said: “The team should be incredibly proud of their achievements this week. This was the biggest tournament of the year for the women’s squad, providing a benchmark of how they are progressing in the build-up to 2012, so it was superb to come away with our best ever medal haul. It was a tough competition, but the girls had prepared well and showed great confidence. It’s been a great tournament for the GB squad.”

The women’s team spent a week in a training camp in Poland prior to the European Championships (17-22 October 2011).

Details of all today’s bouts and contests throughout the Championships are available at www.gbboxing.org.uk.