John Lyttle competed in the men's heavyweight boxing at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games in a ferocious opening bout against Jean Lansiaux of France - a contest of such intensity that Lansiaux's face was so badly damaged in the exchange that the Frenchman took no further part in the tournament after winning the bout.
From the Greencastle area of Belfast and a regular sparring partner of both Terry Milligan and John McNally at the Olympic gymnasium in Helsinki, Lyttle was part of an Irish boxing cohort whose pre-competition training sessions startled the American and Canadian coaches with whom they shared the facility.
Boxing
