Club offers up boxing trio for Team England
BIRTLEY will have three boxers at this summer’s Commonwealth Games, as Team England announced their boxing team.
The McCormack twins Pat and Luke will be joined by Calum French for the tournament on the Gold Coast in Australia, which gets under way on April 4. All three represent Birtley ABC and are on the Team GB podium squad and have aspirations to reach the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
French will be England’s 60kg presentative, with Luke McCormack entering at 64kg.
Pat McCormack, who represented England at the Glasgow 2014 Games, as well as Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics, will be in the 69kg draw.
Pat said of the announcement: “It’s great to be selected for the Commonwealth Games. I competed at the one in Glasgow but I was young and inexperienced then and did not win a medal. Since then I have been to the world championships twice, won two silver medals the Europeans and been to an Olympic Games so I will have a lot more confidence and experience going into the competition this time.
“I have always wanted to go travelling to Australia, so to be able to go there through boxing is even better. I know it will be a tough tournament but I have trained hard and I am going there to win gold.
“Competing alongside my twin brother (Luke McCormack, who has been selected at lightwelterweight) will make the tournament even more exciting, and if we both come home with gold, it will definitely put us out there. We just need to make sure that we perform on the day.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the squad announcement, French, who won bronze at last year’s European Championships in his first major international senior event, said of the Commonwealth Games: “As well as the WSB there’s also the Commonwealth Games this year too, so it could be a very busy year, and one I want to take full advantage of.
“It’s all just part of the journey – the next step on this path I have planned as I’m looking to go all the way and win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The Commonwealth Games will be my first multi-sport event, so it’s great preparation for the Olympics.”
Pat and Calum are part of the Lionhearts’ five-man team that will compete against the Croatian Knights in WSB at Gateshead Leisure Centre on February 16.