A 15-year-old amateur Irish boxer, Tadhg O’Donnell is welcome as a hero at his school after winning a gold medal for Ireland in the European Junior Championship.
A video has been released showing the amazing welcome given to 15-year-old boxer Tadhg O'Donnell when he returned to his school after winning an Irish gold medal at the European Junior Championships last month.
The Polish Pawel Fabian Urbanksk was dominated by O'Donnell in this match. Every round was awarded to him by all of the judges, resulting in 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27 scores.
O'Donnell has now returned to his school in Wicklow, Ireland, after winning a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. When he arrived for his first day as a gold medallist, he was surprised to see a guard of honour waiting for him at the entrance. He was overwhelmed with congratulations from his classmates after rugby coach and PE teacher Mark Crean organised a guard of honour for him.
His friends' celebration, as well as his own winning, was what overwhelmed him with excitement after winning the gold medal at the European Games.
Winning European gold was everything to me,” he said in an interview with the Irish Independent. “I'd been unable to go out with my friends for the last year due to training and fighting, and it all felt worthwhile when I won gold. The quality of boxing was high, but my training and preparation were impeccable, and I peaked at the right time because I could hear my teammates' support from the crowd.”