The middleweight boxing competition at the Olympics has been thrilling–with a couple of surprising results. Some expected the top two contenders, Japan’s Yoko Teramoto and China’s Li Qian, to battle it out for gold. But when the final was called, they didn’t. Instead, the winner was a completely unexpected American, Lauren Price.
Like so many other women in the world, American boxer Lauren Price has been taught that she’s not as capable as men, in order to keep women in their place. Her dad told her to just let him win in their fights—and that’s what she did. She was gracious in defeat and she continues to practice hard. But she never gave up hope.
Li Qian is a Chinese woman who has been boxing since 2008, but it wasn’t until her match against British boxer Lauren Price that she really came to the attention of the world. The match took place in Tokyo, and saw Price coming out on top, winning the gold medal in the first ever Olympic women’s middleweight boxing competition.. Read more about when are the olympics 2024 and let us know what you think.
Lauren Price of the United Kingdom became the first Welsh woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal when she defeated Li Qian of China in the women’s middleweight final.
Price, 27, won his 22nd Olympic gold medal with a 5-0 points win at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.
After Nicola Adams’ flyweight victories in 2012 and 2016, she becomes the second British woman to win a gold medal in boxing.
With 22 golds, 21 silvers, and 22 bronze medals, Britain has matched its tally from London 2012.
Price told Sport, “I can’t really put it into words – it’s a dream come true.”
“I’m still pinching myself. Years of hard effort have paid off, and anybody can accomplish anything if they dream big enough and work hard enough.
“I’m overjoyed, and I want to thank everyone who has supported me since I was eight years old.”
Price’s grandpa Derek died in November, and she dedicated her gold medal to him and her grandma Linda in an emotional interview.
Price, who was reared by her grandparents from the age of three, said, “It’s for him and my nan – I knew he’d be looking down on me today and all week really.”
“I can’t express how grateful I am for all they’ve done for me over the years; I adore them both.”
“A special shout-out to my grandmother; I can’t wait to visit her and show her my medal.”
Lauren Price, a member of Team GB’s boxing team, meets the Duke of Cambridge.
Price, a great athlete, makes history.
Price, a former world kickboxing champion and international footballer for Wales, won the first round against former world champion Li, who was able to pick off blows against her taller opponent due to fast hands and feet.
She continued to dominate in the second round, controlling the pace and tempo with her 31-year-old opponent struggling to land. Four of the judges gave that round to Price, meaning Li needed a stoppage or knockout in the final round.
Price, on the other hand, was never in danger in the third, as her near-flawless performance earned her a 30-27 triumph on four judges’ scorecards and a 29-28 win on the fifth.
Price had been an overwhelming winner, according to Adams, who was watching from the studio.
“Lauren had her strategies down down, and Li couldn’t cope,” the two-time Olympic gold medalist remarked. “It was like watching a sparring match because she made it seem so simple.”
“She handled all of the stress well.”
After Fred Evans’ welterweight silver in London 2012 and Ralph Evans’ light-flyweight bronze in Munich 1972, Price has already become just the third Welsh boxer to earn an Olympic medal.
In netball and taekwondo, the Newport native has also represented Wales at an international level in various age groups, and in kickboxing, he has won global, European, and British titles.
Before focusing on boxing, she played 52 times for Wales’ national football team across all age levels, earning two senior caps.
Lauren Price (number five) made 52 appearances for Wales’ women’s national team.
She soon made history by being the first Welsh woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal with a bronze in Glasgow in 2014, followed by gold on Australia’s Gold Coast four years later and a World Championship gold medal in 2019.
GB won six medals in the boxing event, including two golds.
Following Galal Yafai’s victory in the men’s flyweight category on Saturday, Price’s gold was Britain’s second in the ring in Tokyo.
Silver medalists were Pat McCormack (men’s welterweight) and Ben Whittaker (men’s light-heavyweight), while bronze medalists were Frazer Clarke (men’s super-heavyweight) and Kariss Artingstall (women’s featherweight).
It means that from their 11-strong squad, Team GB earned six medals – two gold, two silver, and two bronze – the most British boxing medals at a Games since Antwerp in 1920, despite winning three golds in London 2012.
Kellie Harrington of Ireland defeated Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil in the women’s lightweight final earlier on Sunday.
After Katie Taylor won lightweight gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, Harrington, 31, who works as a maid in a Dublin hospital, became the second Irish woman to win a boxing gold.
Harrington put up an outstanding performance, earning a unanimous points victory, with two of the five judges awarding her the victory by 30-27 margins and the other three scoring it 29-28 in her favor.
