Ward storms to his third Euro crown

BOXING: Irish champion Joe Ward secured the gold medal for the third time at the European Championships in Kharkiv yesterday, overpowering Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in the lightheavyweight final.

Having secured the title in 2011 and 2015, Ward (pictured) was barely troubled all week and made no mistake in the deciding bout to take gold home for Ireland.

And the Irish champion maintained control and took the verdict on all five scorecards, a return of one gold and two bronze medals for Ireland with the bronzes won by Kurt Walker and Brendan Irvine.