KATIE TAYLOR
Katie Taylor (born 2 June 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, she bore the flag for Ireland at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, later boxing her way to an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division. Taylor was named Sportsperson of the Year at the 2012 People of the Year Awards in September 2012.
Contents
Taylor studied from 1999 until 2005 at St. Kilian's Community School in Bray, County Wicklow. 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.
Boxing
Taylor started boxing (coached by her father Peter himself a successful amateur boxer) in 1998, aged 12.
Her 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. Later that year, at the World Amateur Championships in Podolsk, Russia, Taylor advanced to the quarter-finals in the 60 kg weight class.
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. At that year's World Amateur Championships, contested in New Delhi, India, Taylor became Ireland's first World Champion, defeating Chalaya again in the semi-final and then Annabella Farias of Argentina in the 60 kg final.
In 2007, she won her third successive European Championship title in Denmark. In August 2008, she claimed her second consecutive Witch Cup gold medal in Hungary, following an inside-the-distance win in the 60 kg final against Wahlström.
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.
2009 defeat of Pan-American champion 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-NationsTaylor 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. She also went on to win her fourth successive European Championship title in September 2009 in Ukraine without conceding a point. She picked up another gold medal at the 2010 European Union Championships in Hungary
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. 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.
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, inQinhuangdao China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated Russian southpaw Sofya Ochigava.[13]
2012 Summer Olympics
Main articles: Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's lightweight and Ireland at the 2012 Summer 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".
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 Chorievaand 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.
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.
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.
Association football
Katie Taylor Personal information Full name Katie Taylor Date of birth 2 June 1986 (age 26) Place of birth Bray, Ireland Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Playing position Midfielder / Forward Senior career*Years Team Apps† (Gls)†Lourdes Celtic St James's Gate–Peamount United National team‡2006–2009 Republic of Ireland 19(2)* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 August 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 August 2012As 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.
Taylor graduated to the Ireland women's senior football team, making her debut against Switzerland at Richmond Park in April 2006. 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. In September 2009 she came on as sub for Ireland against Kazakhstan, days after winning the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Ukraine.
At club level Taylor played in the Dublin Women's Soccer League (DWSL) for Lourdes Celtic and St James's Gate. 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.
Taylor is a Leeds United supporter, as a result of her Yorkshire–born father.
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.
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, is to be published by Simon & Schuster for the 2012 Christmas market. It won the 2012 Irish Book Award in the "Irish Sports Book" category.
Awards and honors
Taylor won her second International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Female Boxer of the Year award at a ceremony in Almaty, Kazakhstan in November 2010.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Boxing
- 3 Association football
- 4 Gaelic football
- 5 Television
- 6 Memoir
- 7 Awards and honours
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Taylor studied from 1999 until 2005 at St. Kilian's Community School in Bray, County Wicklow. 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.
Boxing
Taylor started boxing (coached by her father Peter himself a successful amateur boxer) in 1998, aged 12.
Her 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. Later that year, at the World Amateur Championships in Podolsk, Russia, Taylor advanced to the quarter-finals in the 60 kg weight class.
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. At that year's World Amateur Championships, contested in New Delhi, India, Taylor became Ireland's first World Champion, defeating Chalaya again in the semi-final and then Annabella Farias of Argentina in the 60 kg final.
In 2007, she won her third successive European Championship title in Denmark. In August 2008, she claimed her second consecutive Witch Cup gold medal in Hungary, following an inside-the-distance win in the 60 kg final against Wahlström.
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.
2009 defeat of Pan-American champion 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-NationsTaylor 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. She also went on to win her fourth successive European Championship title in September 2009 in Ukraine without conceding a point. She picked up another gold medal at the 2010 European Union Championships in Hungary
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. 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.
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, inQinhuangdao China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated Russian southpaw Sofya Ochigava.[13]
2012 Summer Olympics
Main articles: Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's lightweight and Ireland at the 2012 Summer 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".
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 Chorievaand 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.
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.
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.
Association football
Katie Taylor Personal information Full name Katie Taylor Date of birth 2 June 1986 (age 26) Place of birth Bray, Ireland Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Playing position Midfielder / Forward Senior career*Years Team Apps† (Gls)†Lourdes Celtic St James's Gate–Peamount United National team‡2006–2009 Republic of Ireland 19(2)* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 August 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 August 2012As 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.
Taylor graduated to the Ireland women's senior football team, making her debut against Switzerland at Richmond Park in April 2006. 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. In September 2009 she came on as sub for Ireland against Kazakhstan, days after winning the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Ukraine.
At club level Taylor played in the Dublin Women's Soccer League (DWSL) for Lourdes Celtic and St James's Gate. 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.
Taylor is a Leeds United supporter, as a result of her Yorkshire–born father.
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.
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, is to be published by Simon & Schuster for the 2012 Christmas market. It won the 2012 Irish Book Award in the "Irish Sports Book" category.
Awards and honors
Taylor won her second International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Female Boxer of the Year award at a ceremony in Almaty, Kazakhstan in November 2010.
When Katie Taylor was chosen to bear the Irish flag at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, the pressure was on for her to deliver gold for Ireland when she stepped into the boxing ring. It was the first time that the Olympics had included women's boxing as one of its events, and she knew she had to deliver - especially as she had campaigned for this chance. She had won four World Amateur Championship titles since 2006, but this was the biggest tournament of he career.Taylor reveals how she trained and prepared for the Olympics, and explains what got her into boxing in the first place. A committed Christian,she trusted in her faith to see her through the toughest challenges. With the whole nation willing her on, and her home town of Bray having ground to a halt, on 9 August she fulfilled her Olympic dream, winning gold in a close-fought contest. And Ireland celebrated with her. Taylor relives these glorious moments, and looks back on the triumph that changed her life forever. It is a special story from a truly remarkable woman.