Irish Team for European Under-22 Championships
A ten-strong Irish team will head to Italy for the European Under-22 Championships which begin this week.
The tournament officially begins tomorrow [Tuesday, June 15th], with the team heading to in Roseto degli Abruzzi. The draw takes placeon Wednesday, and the first bouts on Thursday – with the championships running until June 25th.
The Irish team is a mix of experienced heads and international newcomers and have been preparing at the High Performance Unit in Abbotstown the past two months.
Flyweight representatives are World Junior silver medallist and recent Senior team member Niamh Earley and 2020 Elite 49kg champ Sean Mari who steps up into the Olympic class.
Also stepping up is 2019 Elite flyweight champ Adam Hession who is now operating at featherweight while 2020 Elite featherweight champ Dean Clancy who has jumped to light welter.
There’s a newcomer at lightweight with teen star Ellie-Mai Gartland – the 2018 European Junior (U16) champion – looking to be Ireland’s next 60kg star.
At welter, double Elite champion and EU bronze medallist Kieran Molloy leads the team alongside fellow Galway man and Elite champ Gabriel Dossen at middleweight.
At light heavyweight, 2019 World Championships participant Kane Tucker is back in the mix internationally while Jack Marley steps up from the youth ranks at heavyweight.
Finally, at super heavyweight, and fresh from the Olympic qualifiers, big Gytis Lisinskas will continue his development.
No female featherweight, welterweight, or middleweight has been sent.
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It is the first underage tournament Ireland are participating in since the outbreak of the pandemic, teams were not sent to the 2020 European Youths or Juniors, nor the 2021 World Youths.
The last time the continental under-22 tournament took place was in March of 2019. The IABA sent a ten-strong squad to the tournament in Vladikavkaz, Russia and came home with one gold – a second podium-topping finish from Amy Broadhurst.
The Dealgan lightweight had also won gold in 2018 alongside Tokyo Olympian Aoife O’Rourke who picked up silver. The team went medal-less in 2017 while in 2012 Jason Quigley and Hughie Myers both medaled winning gold and silver respectively in what was then an under-23 competition.
2021 European U22 Championships, Roseto degli Abruzzi, June 15-25
51kg Niamh Earley (Ryston)
52kg Sean Mari (Monkstown)
57kg Adam Hession (Monivea)
60kg Ellie Mai Gartland (Clonmel)
63kg Dean Clancy (Sean McDermott’s)
69kg Kieran Molloy (Oughterard)
75kg Gabriel Dossen (Olympic)
81kg Kane Tucker (Emerald)
91kg Jack Marley (Monkstown)
+91kg Gytis Lisinskas (Celtic Eagles)
