Charley Davison, Rosie Eccles, Chantelle Reid, Lewis Richardson, Pat Brown and Delicious Orie have been named by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as the six boxers that will represent Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The three men and three women earned their ticket for Paris by securing a quota place at one of the three Olympic Qualification events organized by the Paris Boxing Unit of the IOC, which has managed the boxing pathway to Paris 2024.
Davison, Eccles and Orie secured qualification when they represented Team GB at the 2023 European Games in Poland, where Orie won gold and his two Davison and Eccles took bronze.
Reid and Brown earnt their places at the first World Qualification Tournament in Italy in April 2024. The last boxer to qualify was Richardson, who secured his place at the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Thailand which concluded at the start of June.
Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England said: “The GB boxers have always been an important and integral part of Team GB. The six selected today bring real talent, character and personality to the team and we’re all looking forward to seeing how they perform at the Games. In Performance Director Rob McCracken, the boxers have an exceptional mentor, who knows how to bring out their best performances. I’m excited to watch them compete.”
Paris will be Davison’s second Games after she competed at Tokyo 2021. Her teammates will all be making their Olympic debut. Davison commented: “Tokyo was a great experience but qualifying for a second time means a little bit more to me. I am much more experienced boxer now and I know what to expect at an Olympics, so I am going into the Games feeling confident.”
The line-up includes two Commonwealth Games Champions in Eccles and Orie who both won gold at Birmingham 2022. Orie said: “Winning gold at a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games was a brilliant and I am looking forward to putting all of that experience to good use at the Olympics. We have all worked so hard to get to this point and, it is great to have qualified, but the job is not yet done and my aim is to keep working hard and make sure I am in the best possible shape when it comes to competing on the biggest stage of all in Paris.”
Eccles said: I have put so much effort into this and had so many ups and downs along the way so to finally qualify for the Olympics and be confirmed as a member of Team GB for Paris 2024 is an amazing feeling.”
The other major medallist in the team is Richardson, who won a bronze at Birmingham 2022 and a silver at the 2022 European Championships in Armenia. Like Eccles, the light-middleweight, who narrowly missed out on qualification for Tokyo 2021, said: “It’s been a long hard journey to get to this point, so it will be a very proud moment when I finally get to pull on the Team GB vest in Paris.”
The remaining members of the team are Mancunian heavyweight Pat Brown and middleweight Chantelle Reid, who only returned to competitive boxing in 2023 following a six-year break. The 26-year-old had been a successful junior and won a gold at the 2014 European Junior Championships which she followed with a bronze at the World Youths but was advised to quit the sport owing to a degenerative disc issue in her lower back.
Reid explained: “I was advised to stop boxing in my teens but the sport is in my family and after seeing my brother do well, I made a comeback in 2023 so it’s been an incredible 18 months. To have qualified for the Olympics and now be part of Team GB in Paris is a dream come true.”
Brown added: “I have only been part of the GB Boxing squad for three years so am really proud to have qualified for the Olympics Games after such a short period of time. It will be an honour to wear the Team GB vest and I am determined to make sure I make myself and all my family and friends proud when the competition gets underway in Paris this summer.”
