Shona Whitwell & Gemma Richardson: What they started, they should have been allowed to finish.
The defeat Amy Broadhurst suffered today in the final Olympic qualifier at the hands of the Korean fighter Yeonji Oh has ended not only Broadhurst's last lingering hope of making the Paris Olympics, but also a highly controversial period for GB Boxing.
The decision to select Broadhurst ahead of GB stalwarts Shona Whitwell and Gemma Richardson was greeted with much venom. Broadhurst had previously and successfully represented Ireland in multiple tournaments and only considered switching allegiances once her hopes of representing Ireland hand finally been extinguished. That is something many would have found that hard to stomach.
As I have written previously, Broadhurst should not be the subject of any venom. She was a fighter simply chasing her lifetime dream of fighting on the Olympic stage. A dream that ended in Thailand courtesy of that split-decision loss to Yeonji Oh earlier today.
Broadhurst explored every avenue open to her. Any fighter would have done the same. As a fighter who held a British passport, as well as her Irish equivalent, Broadhurst had a way back in. The issue always was, that door should never have been left open for her.
Broadhurst was still hoping to represent Ireland in Paris as late as January and only arrived in Sheffield in April to train with the rest of the GB girls once the green light was given for her to do so. For the powers that be that quest for medals in Paris came at the expense of loyalty. And to this observer, what is morally right.
Richardson has been in the GB set-up for over five years. Whitwell, even longer with seven years spent chasing that Olympic dream. Both had that dream cruelly ripped away from them in the most unforgiving circumstances. Many would add, in a heartless and shameful manner.
I do have a lot of sympathy for Broadhurst. In many ways, she has been put in an impossible situation. She is a victim of many things. Hopefully, her career, almost certainly now as a professional, can now move on from this. And with success.
But I have much more sympathy for Shona Whitwell and Gemma Richardson. Two fighters who have given everything for their country. What they started, they should have been allowed to finish.
I wrote earlier this month when the news first broke that Broadhurst was controversially selected ahead of Whitwell and Richardson for that final Olympic qualifier.
'Shona Whitwell and Gemma Richardson deserved better. GB Boxing could have done better by them. Much better. A difficult situation. An impossible one even. Several months down the road, will that quest for medals end in a whole tsunami of regrets for all involved.'
Sadly, for all involved, including Broadhurst, that is exactly how is how it has all turned out. It was a predictable ending and one that all involved should have seen coming. Hopefully, lessons will now be learned. For all three fighters and even everyone at GB Boxing, it was all for nothing.
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