Lightweight (57-60 kilograms), Women

Katie Taylor had dominated the weight division for a decade so it was a major surprise when she struggled to qualify for the Rio Games. The Irishwoman was defeated by France’s Estelle Mossely in the semi-finals of the 2016 World Championships which cost the chance of her sixth successive world title but not the top seeding for Rio. However it was still a major shock when Taylor lost her first bout to veteran Mira Potkonen of Finland on a majority decision. Meanwhile Mossely eased to a final via a wide points victory in her quarter-final and a semi-final win when her Russian opponent retired due to a shoulder injury in the first round.

The final would be contested between Mossely, the world champion, and Yin Junhua, the Asian Games champion from China. It turned to be a memorable 24th birthday for the Frenchwoman. Earlier she had watched fiancé Tony Yoka reach his own Olympic final by beating a Croatian opponent before herself fighting for gold. The consensus was that Yin led at the halfway point before Mossely came back strongly in the second half of the fight. The Ecuadorean judge scored the fight 39-37 for Yin, with the Puerto Rican’s tally tied at 38-38 and the Cuban judge voting 39-37 to Mossely. The Puerto Rican broke his tie in favour of the French boxer and France had only its’ second Olympic boxing champion since 1936. In a unique twist, Yoka would add another the next day. In March 2017 the couple announced they were expecting their first child.