Commonwealth Games gold medal just the start for Jude

NOW that the dust has settled and he’s had a few weeks to let his achievement sink in, Jude Gallagher is keen for his Commonwealth Games gold medal success to be the opening chapter of a successful story rather than the climax of the tale.

The Newtownstewart man clinched the featherweight title in Birmingham after three flawless performances against Eswatini’s Zweli Comfort Dlamini, home town favourite Niall Farrell, and Pakistan’s Ilyas Hussain.

The 20-year-old fought maturely and professionally in each of those bouts, seeing off Dlamini and Hussain via unanimous decisions, while Farrell was dispatched inside the opening round following a blistering barrage from Gallagher.

By this stage in the competition, the former Sacred Heart College pupil was seen as the favourite for gold and so it proved as his semi-final opponent, Ghana’s Joseph Comme, and then fellow finalist, Canadian, Keoma-Ali Al-Ahmiadieh, both withdrew from their contests to leave Jude the champion and now the Ulster Herald Sports Personality of the Month for August.

At the time of his victory, Jude was delighted to have claimed gold but also a little disappointed that he didn’t win it in the ring – although few would argue he wouldn’t have won it anyway had his opponents not withdrawn.

Now, though, he feels the magnitude of his achievement has sunk in and while he has enjoyed the celebrations and the accolades that came with it, he is just looking to the future and with it the Irish Senior National Elite Championships in January and qualification for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“It’s sunk in but it’s just back to the real world now – work and train, work and train!,” he explained.

“I’ve got to the stage where I have to put it behind me and look at what’s next with the Nationals and stuff like that.”

Gallagher won the Senior National Elite title at the first time of asking as an 18 year-old in 2019 but missed out on a place at the Tokyo Olympics because a growth spurt left him unable to meet the 52kg weight limit of his division then.

Now, at 57kgs, that isn’t going to happen but he is keen to take this opportunity to make it to the pinnacle of amateur boxing on what may be his last chance to do so.

“I have to win it [the National’s], nothing else will do if I want to do anything regarding the Olympics, getting on the team and going to the qualifiers,” he explained.

“I always want to finish number one anyway but even more so this year and the win at the Commonwealth’s proves I can do it, it has given me more confidence.”

The extra confidence gained from his success in Birmingham will stand him in good stead for January’s National’s where he will be seen as the man to beat, not that that will cause Jude any concerns.

“I don’t think there is any more pressure on me after what happened in the summer. I’m just going to approach it the same as any other year because I’m still young,” he added.

“I’ll only be 21 by the time the National’s come around. I know there is speculation about boxing not being in the Los Angeles Olympics, but I never put pressure on myself because at the end of the day I started boxing as an eight year-old, walking into the club for something to do, for a bit of training and look how far I’ve come so far.

“There’s no pressure and I don’t put any one myself, I just stay focused, calm and whatever will be will be

“It’s hard to let it sink in but you don’t want to finish the story there, you want to keep writing it.”

His story would seem to be destined for a lengthy telling, if his performances in Birmingham are anything to go by, and Jude was delighted to be able to show his skills to more people at the Commonwealth Games.

He feels the event allowed him to really showcase his skills and it was an opportunity he certainly took.

“It showed people what I can do, especially the people who didn’t know, who might not have seen me fight before,” he said.

“They all see it now, they know what I’m about and they are excited about me.

“It gave me a massive platform because it gave them the chance to see me in the ring. People were seeing things and especially after my first fight they were tuning in and they couldn’t believe it.

“Some people couldn’t believe it and I was happy with that and that they were tuning in.”

There was no shortage of people tuning in during Jude’s run to gold in Birmingham and the same as the case upon his return home where he was greeted by a massive celebration in Newtownstewart.

Having enjoyed a similar homecoming when he won a medal at the World Youth Championships several years before, Gallagher felt he was prepared for what was ahead that evening, but he admits he may have underestimated the size of his welcome home this time.

“It was unbelievable!,” he beamed.

“I knew I was coming back to a bit of a reception here, which I was trying to hype myself up for but when I actually saw it I couldn’t believe it!

“Coming down the street, I didn’t know what they were going to do. The last time I came back to something was the World Championships and they put me on my cousin’s lorry and took me around the town but this was something else.

“The whole street was full, there were people from everywhere, I couldn’t believe it. It was like ‘Rocky’ running through the street, everyone running after him!

“My friend said to me the other day ‘imagine what’s it’s going to be like if you brought back an Olympic medal or a World title, the place will have to be locked down!’

“It would be unreal, it would be twice as mad!,” he concluded.