Gráinne Walsh combines power of the mind and body to realise her Paris dream

Gráinne Walsh: 'I’ve had four more fights now that I wouldn’t have had . I’ve had a full tournament, I’m in great physical and mental shape at the minute.' Photograph: Fabrizio Carabelli/Inphosent photos of herself “in floods of tears” into her family group chat. Not from disappointment, but from a combination of relief and pride having convinced herself she would qualify.

“My fear throughout all my career and being injured was never getting to go to an Olympic qualifier? I never knew whether I was good enough or not to qualify. But the fact that I went to Milan, and I should have qualified, I had the answer . . . I knew I was good enough.” A devastated Grainne Walsh following her split decision defeat to Poland's Aneta Rygielska at the Olympic qualifier in Italy last March. Photograph: Fabrizio Carabelli/Inpho

“I was focusing on all the outcome, everything after the process, but I still had to go through it. I just presumed ‘happy days, I’m going to be an Olympian’ and took my eye off the ball in that sense.” “I’ve got a bit more faith in all that and trusting in the timing. Following five injuries, I was like this is a piss-take. Well, I understand now. I was saying to my dad, ‘why would that have happened? What do I need to learn?’ But I didn’t see it at the time until Bangkok. The night before the qualification fight, I was sitting in this ramen bar with my da, my brother and my sister and I was saying, ‘I had the best month of my life’. That was before I ever qualified.

Paris-2024 Grainne-Walsh

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