The reigning Lisa O’Rourke of Castlerea once again defended her under-22 European light-middleweight title with aplomb in Sofia on Saturday. Fresh off her 2022 World Championship victory in Istanbul, O’Rourke made short work of Daya Letsko in the 70kg final held at the Sofia Sports Hall.
O’Rourke continued her previous championship success from 2022 when she bested Daria Parada in Croatia. There was undeniable certainty about the result, with the ringside adjudicators agreeing O’Rourke acknowledged from the blue corner, marking Ireland’s inaugural gold of the Championships.
From the get-go, O’Rourke kept a tight grasp on the match, with Letsko no match for the relentless blows from the woman from Roscommon. O’Rourke, who previously bested Serbia’s Anastasia Lukajic in the quarter-final and triumphed against Poland’s Barbara Marcinkowska in the semi-final, impressively swept clean 30-26 in judges’ cards in the latter match.
O’Rourke missed her chance at the Olympics this year since Grainne Walsh was selected for Paris in the welterweight category by IABA. Letsko, a Belarusian fighting under the supervision of the IBA, was unable to reciprocate the barrage unleashed by O’Rourke.
During the final minute of the third round, O’Rourke delivered a powerful right on Letsko, reinforcing the inescapable outcome. Despite her existing injury woes, O’Rourke triumphantly seized gold with unanimous judge’s approval.
On a lighter note, Oakleaf BC minimumweight Carleigh Irving won a silver medal after falling short against Turkey’s Nursselen Yalgattekin in the 48kg final. Looking ahead, 48kg Louis Rooney and 54kg Patsy Joyce are set to vie for gold in their respective finals on Sunday, while Robyn Kelly, Clepson dos Santos, Bobbi Flood, and Martin McDonagh have bagged bronze medals.