'I watched my heroes on TV in 2012, now I'll be an Olympian'

After watching the London 2012 Olympics, Jude Gallagher will now follow in the footsteps of his heroes

It's the summer of 2012 and the Olympic Games in London are in full swing.

Not long after winning his first All-Ireland title, 10-year-old Jude Gallagher is watching boxing with his father, John, at home in County Tyrone.

John asks a question that started out as a laugh between father and son but has now turned into a reality:

"Would you ever like to go to the Olympics one day?"

It was a light-hearted conversation, but 12 years on Gallagher is about to embark on his Olympic debut in Paris.

How time flies.

"I said, 'Yeah sure, why not?'," Gallagher recalled.

"He was just having a laugh, and he looked at the next Olympics in Rio and I would have been too young in 2016."

The Tokyo Games were still too soon, so eyes then turned to Paris in 2024 and John sent a "funny email" to the bookmakers.

In summary, it read: 'What price would you give Jude Gallagher to win Olympic gold in Paris 2024?'

"They got back to him, but they were unable to offer a price," the younger Gallagher laughed as he recalled the memory.

"It's unbelievable that I'm sitting here now going to Paris for the Olympics. It's absolutely crazy."

The Olympics had long been the goal for Gallagher, and the sheer joy and emotion on his face after he qualified in March said everything you needed to know. Now 22, it had been 12 years in the making.

Gallagher's first Olympic memories took place that summer of 2012 in what was a golden period for Irish boxing.

Katie Taylor won a historic gold for Ireland and went on to international fame after turning professional.

Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes collected bronze medals, while John Joe Nevin won silver.

Gallagher was in a summer scheme in his school in the rural heart of Tyrone when his teacher asked if he wanted to watch his heroes in action.

"I was meant to be out in the yard playing football, and my teacher said 'such and such is fighting for Ireland today, do you want to come and watch it?'.

"That's my earliest memories of Olympic boxing. That's where the dream started for me."

Now, instead of watching his heroes, Gallagher - from the village of Newtownstewart with a population of just 1,500 - will be competing on the very same stage.

He says it's something that "hasn't sunk in" but is "unbelievable".

"I hadn't thought about that," Gallagher said, when asked what it was like to have youngsters look up to him and watch him on TV, just as he had done in 2012.

"I don't see myself as a superstar as I would have seen those guys as superstars back then.

"I'm just Jude. I'm an ordinary lad doing my thing. If it inspires one person or it inspires 10, it's brilliant.

"That's what it is all about, inspiring the next generation like I was inspired myself."

'Anything can happen'

In the years from London 2012 to Paris, Gallagher has built a reputation as a rising star of the amateur ranks.

He has multiple national titles and his biggest moment came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, when he won featherweight gold for Northern Ireland.

Of the five boxers from Northern Ireland to win gold two years ago, Gallagher and siblings Aidan and Michaela Walsh are heading to Paris.

With the draw for the Games not set to take place until the eve of the opening ceremony, the route to the medals is wide open, but Gallagher is content on focusing on himself.

"I'm getting excited now, but I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground and looking straight ahead.

"We're in the last stages of preparation but I'll just focus on my game.

"Whenever I hear who I'm fighting the coaches will come up with a game plan to prepare the best I can."

Gallagher, pictured here as a 17-year-old in 2019, has won multiple National titles with his father, John (right), by his side

After winning Commonwealth gold, Gallagher now has his eyes on achieving the goal his father jokingly contacted the bookmakers about all those years ago.

"Absolutely. That's what we are focusing on."

After a hit and miss 2023, he became Irish national champion in December and booked his place at the Olympics in March.

He believes that having a patchy run that required him to dig deep, instead of having victory after victory, will ultimately help him in Paris.

"I had a few setbacks over the past couple of years, but every setback I overcame and came back stronger," Gallagher said.

"I've built great resilience and I think that will show going into Paris.

"We just have to perform and go out in the best shape both mentally and physically, and anything can happen."