Tokyo Olympics: Karriss Artingstall takes bronze after Lauren Price guarantees medal
- Published
Tokyo Olympic Games on the BBC |
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Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. |
Great Britain's Karriss Artingstall claimed Olympic bronze in Tokyo after a narrow defeat by Japan's Sena Irie.
Artingstall, 26, guaranteed a medal on Tuesday by reaching the women's featherweight semi-finals.
But she was denied the chance to fight for gold as Irie edged a 3-2 split-decision win at the Kokugikan Arena.
Artingstall's flat-mate Lauren Price, 27, will also return home with a medal after a dominant win over Panama's Atheyna Bylon earlier on Saturday.
The Welsh middleweight won 5-0 to guarantee at least a bronze and book a place in Friday's semi-finals, where she will face Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands.
The Olympic debutant is the number one seed having won gold at the 2019 World Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
"I can't put into words what it means to me," Price told the BBC.
"It was my dream since eight years of age to get to an Olympic Games. I never thought I would get here, let alone win a medal."
Price is one of Team GB's most talented and versatile athletes. She won 52 caps for Wales as a no-nonsense defender in football, before deciding to concentrate fully on boxing after winning bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She is also a former kickboxing world champion and played netball for Wales at junior levels.
Price is the fourth member of GB's boxing team for Tokyo 2020 to guarantee a medal, after Artingstall, Pat McCormack and Ben Whittaker.
McCormack faces Ireland's Aidan Walsh in the men's welterweight semi-finals on Sunday (04:03 BST), before light-heavyweight Whittaker faces Russian Imam Khataev (04:51).
"I am glad that is out of the way now and I can look forward to the next one," Price added.
"I know I am not finished yet, I have got to go on now and change the colour [of the medal].
"We have a great team behind us. That is the fourth medal now for us so it shows that Team GB boxing, the whole of UK Sport and, of course, lottery funding - if it wasn't for them and people at home who buy tickets, we wouldn't be here."
Luke McCormack will be unable to emulate his twin brother Pat in the lightweight division. Cuba's reigning world champion Andy Cruz ended the 26-year-old's first Olympic campaign with a unanimous win in the last 16.
In the last 16 of the men's flyweight competition, Galal Yafai did enough to earn a 3-2 split-decision win over Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba.
The 28-year-old will now face Cuba's Yosvany Veitia, who he beat at the 2019 World Championships, in Tuesday's quarter-finals.
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