Broadhurst has been selected at 60kgs, the same weight category as Irish Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington, and said she “owed it” to herself to pursue every avenue available to make it to Paris.
“The decision to pursue an alternative route to the Olympic Games – after I was informed by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) in March 2024 that I would not be assessed for selection for the final qualifier – was not taken lightly and, as the holder of a British passport, I felt I owed it to myself and all the people that have supported me throughout my career to do everything possible to continue to pursue my dream of competing on the biggest stage in sport,” she said.
“Since I first walked into the GB Boxing gym, I have been made to feel incredibly welcome by my new teammates and all of the coaches and support staff and I would like to thank everyone at GB Boxing for their support and hard work over recent weeks in helping to keep my Olympic dream alive and enabling me to have this opportunity.
“My priority now is to continue to train hard, listen to the coaches and give myself the best possible chance of succeeding at the qualifier and achieving my dream of securing a place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.”
GB Boxing’s Performance Director Rob McCracken added: “GB Boxing’s selection criteria dictates that we choose people that demonstrate the potential to qualify for and to win a medal at the Olympic Games and, having closely assessed all of the boxers at recent training camps and examined their past performances at elite international tournaments, the coaches were unanimous in their view of which boxer fulfilled the criteria most in the women’s lightweight division.”