Reid wants 'dream Olympic gold' before turning pro

Chantelle Reid won world and European medals as a junior fighter before taking a six-year break from the sport

British boxer Chantelle Reid says winning an Olympic gold medal is a lifelong ambition she is not ready to give up on to turn professional.

The 27-year-old spent more than a year out of the ring after she lost her opening-round bout at the Paris Olympics on a split-decision.

Her comeback ended with a bronze-medal finish at the World Championships in Liverpool earlier this month.

For the Derbyshire fighter, the competition was the start of her attempt to capture what she sees as the greatest prize in the sport.

"I don't think there is anything better than an Olympic gold medal," she told BBC Radio Derby.

"I know there is a lot to achieve in the pro rankings, but that Olympic gold is the top for me, the best achievement really in the sport."

'Chase it and make it happen'

Reid says it was when she visited her former primary school in Stenson Fields, Derbyshire, during the summer that her ambitions became clear.

As a junior, Reid won European gold and world medals before her career was put on hold for six years because of a back injury.

It was only in 2023, a year before the Paris Games, that she returned to the sport.

"My primary school teacher did an assembly for me and it was based off dreams, and I came to the realisation that I want gold - I want Olympic gold," she said.

"I just need to follow my dreams, chase it and make it happen.

"I'm not too old to do another Olympic cycle, I can still do the professional thing after that."

While Reid's first attempt at Olympic glory ended after just one fight in Paris, she insists the experience was invaluable.

"I walked away from the Olympics knowing I put my heart and soul into that fight, into the training and preparation for the Games," she said.

"It was close, but I felt I did enough to get the win. But it is what it is, and I just have to move forward really and look at how I can improve and really make that decision clearer next time I go to the Olympics."