Paddy Barnes became the first Irish boxer to win medals at two consecutive Olympic Games, taking bronze at Beijing 2008 and bronze again at London 2012 in the light flyweight division.
He carried the Irish flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Games - his third consecutive Olympics. One of the most decorated Irish amateur boxers in history, he won European Championship gold in Moscow in 2010 and silver in Minsk in 2013, and won Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi in 2010 and Glasgow in 2014 representing Northern Ireland - a back-to-back Commonwealth title that contributed to his being awarded an MBE in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to boxing and the community.
Paddy's journey to the top was remarkable: he lost his first twelve amateur bouts before going on to represent Ireland at three Olympics and accumulate one of the finest amateur records the country has produced. From Belfast, he boxed with Holy Family Boxing Club. After retiring from the amateur ranks he turned professional, challenging for the WBC flyweight world title in 2018. He later served as a member of the OFI Athletes Commission.
Boxing
