ONE of Ireland’s big Olympic medal hopes was extinguished on Wednesday night as Aoife O’Rourke suffered a shock 3-2 split decision defeat to familiar foe Elzbieta Wojciek.
The pair had already met six times, with the 27-year-old winning on each occasion. Coming into the Games on the back of a 21-fight winning streak dating back to May 2022 it appeared, on paper, the perfect draw to get her up and running after the disappointment of falling at the first hurdle in Tokyo three years ago.
But Wojcik appeared completely unburdened by the past as she strode confidently to the ring, before launching straight into O’Rourke, the first bell giving way to nine minutes of untidy, ugly action.
And that suited the Pole as she successfully dragged O’Rourke into the trenches, with the Roscommon woman unable to escape. Still, had the decision gone in her favour, few could have argued either. It was that kind of fight.
All five judges scored scrappy first round in favour of O’Rourke, who was firmly in the box seat considering Wojcik also received a public warning. But still she came out, all swinging limbs, grappling and mauling.
It made for frustrating fare, but it was effective as three judges swayed her way at the end of the second, with Wojcik forcing the pace in the third to leave the crowd inside the North Paris Arena clueless as to how it might go.
In the end, with two judges going for both, it came down to Canadian judge Jeffery Verhoeven. He scored the fight a draw and, when asked to select a winner on countback, opted for the Pole – a result which means six of the eight Irish boxers to feature so far have lost their first bout.
“She set the pace and the intensity from the get-go… it was a battle the whole way through.
“There was a lot of holding. Lookit that’s part of it, maybe I should’ve been quicker getting out, but it is what is now and I wish her the best going forward.”
Considering how often they have shared the ring, particularly in recent years, did Wojcik do anything different to get the nod this time? Or was the Pole’s approach what she expected?
“Yeah it was.
“She only had one or two options - she was either going to come at me like a bull or she was going to stand her ground in the middle of the ring. And, from the get-go, she came out.
“But that’s it, you’re at an Olympic Games, you’re going to come out full-steam ahead, take no chances, and that’s what she did.
“We’ve met on numerous occasions and it’s always been a battle. I definitely didn’t underestimate her one bit when I was drawn against her. Fair play to her, she stepped it up again tonight.”
RUNNING ORDER
Thursday, August 1
51kg last 16: D Moorehouse v W Lkhadiri (France) – 7pm
92kg: J Marley v D Boltaev (Tajikistan) – 9.08pm
Friday, August 2
57kg last 16: M Walsh v SK Staneva (Bulgaria) – 2.46pm
Saturday, August 3
60kg semi-final: K Harrington v B Ferreira (Brazil) – 9.08pm
