INJURY may have prevented him from upgrading the colour, but Aidan Walsh says he feels “lucky and blessed” to come away from the Tokyo Games with a bronze medal.

The Blacks Road man injured his ankle when celebrating his quarter-final win over Merven Clair on Friday morning that ensured the 24-year-old Monkstown ABC welterweight would make it 17 medals for Ireland’s boxers in their Olympic history, meaning he was unable to take on Britain’s Pat McCormack in Sunday morning’s semi-final.

While naturally disappointed that he couldn’t fight for a place in the final and turn bronze into silver or even gold, Walsh was still rightly proud of what he achieved in Tokyo as his place in the history books is absolutely secure.

His humble approach outside the ring and determination inside the ropes has won him many new supporters throughout the country and while he had to stand on the podium wearing a protective boot, he was nonetheless thrilled to have made it that far and hopes to go further in the years to come.

“It’s fractured,” he said of his injured ankle, “but I’m standing here as an Olympic bronze medalist and that’s amazing.

“I’m so grateful to every single person who has watched me do this. It’s not just me who did this; there are so many people behind the scenes who did and I played small part.

“It’s great to be standing on that podium beside three other top athletes who are at the top of their game too, and I’m sure in the near future I’ll be standing higher than now.

“My goal is always to keep improving and keep striving for more. I have a great team behind me and I hope to God that in the future I am lucky enough and blessed enough to do it again.”

Aidan Walsh with sister Michaela
2Gallery

Aidan Walsh with sister Michaela

Walsh had already made a piece of history before the opening bell at the Games as he was part of the first brother and sister combination to compete at the Olympic boxing event.

Older sister Michaela may have exited at the hands if Italy’s Irma Testa in the featherweight class last week, but was chief cheerleader for Aidan for the rest of the tournament and the Olympic medalist says he would happily split his bronze in half with big sister.

“This is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, to secure that medal,” he added.

“It’s an historic moment for me to come away with the bronze medal.

“I only came onto the High Performance two or three years ago and now I’m a European medalist and an Olympic medalist.

“It’s sad that I’m not doing it alongside my sister, but I would but this medal in half for my sister because I know she deserves it as much as I do.

“To qualify alongside my sister and the whole team... It’s an amazing team with amazing staff. We’re all out here to win a medal, so I just feel so lucky and blessed. I’m so grateful to be standing here, but to do it alongside my sister is another blessing and that surpasses it all.”

Walsh will return home to a hero’s welcome when the team touch down on Irish soil and his name is not just etched into Irish, but Belfast folklore given he now joins Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Wayne McCullough, Hugh Russell, John Caldwell, Freddie Gilroy, John McNally and Jim McCourt as an Olympic medal winner from the city.

Those are fighters he looked up to before departing for Japan, but now it is Walsh who will inspire the next generation, but he insists none of it would have been possible without his support network and everyone who has had a hand in shaping him into the fighter and person he is today.

“If someone had have said years ago when I was a boy walking into the boxing club that I would be an Olympic medalist, I don’t know…,” he reflected.

“I remember watching all the greats and I was talking to Hugh Russell before I came out here.

“I said to myself that I would give anything to put myself in the position to have a bronze medal, so standing here is just unbelievable.

“I’ve just been extremely lucky and extremely blessed to be standing here with an Olympic medal.

“This is for all my family back home: my parents, my girlfriend and everyone who sacrificed so much. It’s unbelievable. My coaches from the club, all the High Performance coaches and everyone who has taken the time out at one stage of their life and put it to mine to get here, it’s unbelievable. This isn’t just me who has done this, it’s everyone behind the scenes who have played a massive part.”