Pressure is a Privilege for Favourite Aidan Walsh

Aidan Walsh takes a ‘pressure is a privilege’ attitude into the Commonwealth Games.

As an Olympic medal winner competing at the latest installment of the high-profile tournament, Walsh is expected to do well.

In fact, he is favourite to top the podium with many predicting he will add gold to the silver medal he won on the Gold Coast four years ago.

The Emerald BC fighter admits that brings pressure but claims expectation is always something he has had to deal with considering Michaela Walsh is his sister.

The Olympic bronze medal winner also suggests he’d prefer to travel to Birmingham with the pressure that comes with being an Olympic medal winner than compete pressure free and not to have medalled and put his name in the Irish sporting history books in Tokyo.

“For me I just want to enjoy it as much as I can, looking back in years to come this will be a blink of an eye,” said Walsh.

“Of course, there is a lot of pressure but pressure is always something that I have had to deal with growing up with Michaela and who she is and the record she has of international medals.

“So I have had to always live up to that and she has always put a lot of pressure on me to see how well I could do and to be coming here an Olympic medallist going into the Commonwealth Games it is something amazing.”

Like his decorated sister Walsh won silver at the last Games and would like to go one better this time around.

“It would be great to get a gold, looking back I now try to enjoy it as much as I can, do your best and that is all you can ask for so fingers crossed but you never know what could happen but that is what we are aiming for,” he adds before suggesting competing alongside his sister makes it all the more special.

“It is my second Commonwealth Games along with my sister and it is her third games which is great.

“This is my second Commonwealth Games and I don’t know if I’ll be about for the next one, my main goal is to go a bit further than I went the last time and just trying to enjoy it and soak it all in because before you know it goes in a flash.

“I’m really looking forward to it and to do it again with my sister is amazing and to do it with great people and for my boxing club it is great.”