Euro Schools 2022: ‘Phenomenal’ Team England target golden finalé

Team England’s achievements at the EUBC Schools European Championships 2022 in Turkey have been ‘phenomenal’, regardless of how many gold medals they take home from tomorrow’s Finals Day.

That’s the view of Lead National Coach Amanda Coulson, who, along with other coaching team members Ivan Cobb, Q Shillingford and Jason Gledhill, have helped the squad prepare for the tournament, both at home and out in Erzurum.

Going into the last day of the tournament, the Three Lions have 11 boxers competing to be on the top step of the podium, while 18 of the 21 who travelled have claimed at least a bronze medal.

Most pleasing for Coulson has been the consistently high standards and level of performances, regardless of the end results.

“Before we came out to Turkey, I was asked what success would look like and my response was that I wanted to see boxers fulfilling their potential and boxing to the best of their ability and that the results would then look after themselves,” she said.

“That is what has happened. We put the preparation in place and gave these kids the opportunity to succeed and they have grasped it with both hands.

“We look like a fantastically professional outfit, and to get an England record 18 medals – we honestly feel it would have been 19 but for Bailey (Wilding’s) nosebleed – is phenomenal.

“If you’d have said before we travelled here that more than half the team would be in a final then we would have taken it – it’s a brilliant achievement.

“Of course, we want to turn those finalists into gold medalists now and that is the focus. They need to put in one last push, one last performance, and they all know what they have to do.”

Familiar foes in the shape of Ukraine and Ireland – who, along with Turkey, are vying to finish top of the overall medals table – provide the final opposition is as many of nine of tomorrow’s bouts for England boxers.

Coulson says those climbing in the ring have a steely determination to earn themselves the right to be called a European champion.

She added: “We have not brought the full complement of boxers in every weight like those two countries have because we don’t want to bring people who are not ready.

“The people we have invested in are those who we thought could get medals, which has been proven correct in that almost all our team has medalled.

“Of course, their finalists are all top-class boxers, as are ours, so we are looking forward to going up against them and seeing what happens.

“We want to finish top of the medal tally, as do both those other countries, and we want to hear our national anthem playing a lot because they have been practising singing it!”