‘It Hurt’ – Amy Broadhurst Opens Up About Olympic Turmoil and Olympic Ambitions

Amy Broadhurst hasn’t given up on her Olympic dream.

The 27-year-old, who is currently expecting her first child, confirmed as much in an open letter published online.

Broadhurst won gold for Ireland at the World and European Championships and went into the last Olympic cycle as one of the best amateurs on the planet.

However, her Olympic journey was anything but smooth. With two time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington at 60kg and 63.5kg not an Olympic weight, the Louth boxer tried to qualify at 66kgs.

After initially failing she wasn’t selected for the final Paris qualifier and made the controversial decision to represent Team GB and tried unsuccessfully to qualify for Britain.

Speaking on the Humans of Dundalk social media platform, Broadhurst addressed the issue and revealed her LA dream.

“I was born and raised in Muirhevnamor and went to school at St. Joseph’s and the CBS. Growing up, I was always out playing football with the boys on the green. I was very sporty and a bit of a tomboy. I never paid much attention in school; my mind was always set on the Olympics. I was a mischief-maker and often got kicked out of class, I just had no interest. Still, I stayed and completed my Leaving Cert.

I had three older brothers and my dad used to coach them boxing. When they left, I had to go to my nanny’s house, which I found boring. So, when I was about 5 or 6, I demanded to go to the boxing club as well. My mam hated the idea. As her youngest and only girl, she would’ve preferred I took up something like dancing. “Can’t you pick something else?” she would say.

I had my first fight at just 7 years old at Dealgan Boxing Club. Afterward, I remember taking off my headguard, poking my head through the ropes, and telling my mam, “Nothing is going to stop me from boxing.” I kept improving and by the time I was 12, I entered my first Irish Championship. I competed around the country until I was 15, when I was selected to represent Ireland in the European Championships in Poland in 2012. I was nervous. Representing Ireland had been a dream of mine and suddenly, it felt very real. I won the gold medal, becoming the first girl since Katie Taylor to achieve that for Ireland. I was over the moon. Later that year, Katie came to my school with a cake in front of all my classmates. It was so emotional, she was my hero, and all of a sudden she was in my school. Fast forward to today and she is one of my friends , it’s all a bit mad!

Boxing took me all over the world and the support I received from Dundalk was incredible. Sponsorships from the community helped me cover expenses and I remember going door-to-door collecting spending money for my many trips. I’ll always be grateful to the people of Dundalk for their encouragement. People would stop me on the street to say they were proud of me and it made coming home after competitions feel amazing.

When I turned 18, I decided I needed a break from boxing, I was burned out. I had missed out on a lot of what my friends were experiencing, like parties and socialising. I moved to London to start fresh and step away from it all. But within four weeks, I joined a boxing club! I couldn’t shake the bug. It wasn’t long before I moved back home and in 2017 I made it my mission to rejoin the Irish team. By March 2018, I was back representing Ireland at the U22 Championships in Romania, where I won gold. My next goal was my ultimate dream. The 2024 Olympics in Paris.

In 2023, I competed at the European Games with Ireland but lost. After that, everything changed. My boyfriend, who was a coach with the team and I revealed that we were in a relationship. This was seen as a big no-no. He was put on gardening leave and I was excluded from training with the team. I had to travel to Belfast twice a week to train alone. In November, I was told I wouldn’t be going to the World Championships and on March 19th 2024, I learned I wouldn’t be going to the Olympics. My dream was shattered. After I was removed, my boyfriend was allowed back to work. It felt so unfair.

Two days later, a coach from the Great Britain team texted me, saying they had an opening if I was interested. Through my father, I qualified to join. My emotions were all over the place, but I didn’t think of the consequences or backlash, I just said yes. I trained hard, ate well and was in the best shape of my life, but I still failed to qualify because mentally, I wasn’t in the right place at all.

I was being called a turncoat and received a lot of online abuse, even from some people in Dundalk. It hurt to hear that from my own community. Nobody knew the full story about why I wasn’t picked for Ireland. People also said I wasn’t good enough, which stung even more. At the Olympics, the two girls in my weight class who made the final—the Chinese and Algerian competitors, were fighters I had beaten before. Deep down, I knew I was good enough.

Now, I’m pregnant with a baby boy. Everything I do from now on will be for him. Looking back, if I had been selected for the Olympics, I wouldn’t be expecting now.

I still have the dream of competing in the Olympics. Kelly Harrington won her first Olympic gold medal at 31 and her second at 35, so at 27 I know I still have time. My two biggest goals in life have been to become a mam and compete in the Olympics.

How amazing would it be to have my son watching me at the next games”