Olympic boxing coach hails squad as qualifying tournament looms

Published on Friday 22 February 2008 09:24

GREAT BRITAIN amateur boxing coach Terry Edwards believes world champion Frankie Gavin will serve as an inspiration for his squad to reap unprecedented rewards from this year's Beijing Olympics.

The profile of domestic amateur boxing has lifted dramatically since Birmingham lightweight Gavin became the first Briton ever to strike world gold in Chicago in November last year.

Gavin's England team-mates Joe Murray, Bradley Saunders and Tony Jeffries also landed Olympic berths, with the prospect of more to come in next week's penultimate qualifying tournament in Pescara.

England and Wales will both be sending strong teams to Italy along with Scottish heavyweight Steve Simmons from Edinburgh, and Edwards admits his team's form has taken even him by surprise.

Edwards said: "A year ago my target for Olympic qualification was four, and we have got that with two tournaments still to go. And for us to also have a world champion amongst us is a major boost. All the guys we are taking to Pescara next week are capable of qualifying and they will take so much inspiration from the fact that four of their team-mates have already got to Beijing.

"I genuinely believe we can go on to China and win at least two Olympic medals. We are no longer seen as a warm-up by the established super-powers – we are one of the strongest squads in the world right now." Edwards' squad have shown dramatic improvement since they began their full-time, four days per week training programme at the Sheffield Institute of Sport in January last year.

Edwards added: "I under-estimated the progress we could make in a year with full-time athletes. We expected to have a few more problems but in a very short period of time we have made tremendous strides."