Lauren Price becomes first Welsh fighter to win Olympic gold as she triumphs in middleweight final

Lauren Price has become the first Welsh fighter to win an Olympic gold medal after she defeated China’s Li Qian in the middleweight boxing final.

Lauren Price celebrates with her gold medal

The 27-year-old took a 5-0 points victory at the Kokugikan Arena to pick up Britain’s 22nd gold of the Tokyo Games.

Price is the second British woman to take home a boxing gold after Nicola Adams triumphed at flyweight at London 2012 and again in Rio in 2016.

It is the latest in a long line of sporting achievements for the Newport-born athlete, who has also made more than 50 appearances for the Wales women’s national football team and has also represented her country at international level in various age groups in netball, taekwondo, and kickboxing.

Price took the opening round against former world champion Li with all five judges, making up for her opponent’s superior height with quick hands and feet.

Four of the five judges gave the second round to price as Li struggled to get to grips with the GB fighter and going into the final round the Chinese boxer needed a stoppage or knockout.

But Price always looked comfortable, delivering a strong performance and earning a 30-27 winning margin from all five judges.

She is just the third Welsh boxer to win a medal after Fred Evans’ welterweight silver at London 2012 and Ralph Evans’ light-flyweight bronze in Munich in 1972.

Price's gold was Britain's second boxing gold of the 2020 Games following Galal Yafai's success in the men's flyweight final on Saturday.

Pat McCormack and Ben Whittaker both took home silver from the men’s welterweight and men’s light-heavyweight finals respectively, with Frazer Clarke scooping bronze in the men’s super-heavyweight competition and Kariss Artingstall doing likewise in the women’s featherweight final.

The medal haul means GB’s 11-strong boxing team returns home as the most successful since Antwerp in 1920, with two golds, two silvers, and two bronze medals.

Ahead of Price’s fight, Irish boxer Kellie Hartington won gold in the women's lightweight final, seeing off the challenge from Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.

The 31-year-old is the second Irishwoman to win boxing gold after Katie Taylor triumped in the lightweight final at the 2012 Olympics in London.

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