The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has been contacted by GB Boxing on behalf of Amy Broadhurst, the current world champion, expressing her desire to switch allegiance from Ireland to Great Britain. Despite the disappointment expressed by the IABA, they have stated that they will not stand in her way if she decides to proceed with the change.
Broadhurst is looking to change her nationality in order to qualify for the Paris Olympics. She has been informed by the High Performance Unit that she will not be assessed for the upcoming second World Qualifying tournament in Bangkok. Instead, they wanted to evaluate her and Lisa O’Rourke for the European Championships in Serbia. Broadhurst expressed her frustration with the situation and has informed her psychologist that she will not be returning to the high-performance center in the near future. She is considering not going back at all.
Despite being a world, European, and Commonwealth Games champion, Broadhurst feels like she will not be representing Ireland at the Paris Games. The athlete described the situation as confusing and stated that she is struggling to understand what is happening. If approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Broadhurst aims to compete in the lightweight category (60kg), where Ireland’s Kellie Harrington is currently an Olympic champion.