- Lewis Oldham
- 31 October 2021
DAZN, Olympic success and why British boxing is the best it's ever been
Lewis Oldham picks out the reasons why the British boxing scene has never been in a healthier state…
Artingstall added an Olympic bronze to her collection of medals in the women's featherweight category at the delayed Tokoyo Olympics.
After a narrow defeat in the semi-finals she set her sights on going all the way at Paris 2024.
A world bronze medalist in the 2019 European Championships, Artingstall secured her place in the featherweight event by claiming a unanimous decision win over Sweden's Stephanie Thour at the European Olympic Boxing qualifiers in June 2021.
Artingstall - who has been given time off from the Army, allowing her to focus purely on her boxing career - is one of three British women who won a medal at the 2019 World Championships in Yekaterinburg.
Tokyo Olympics
Having suffered a disappointing quarter-final defeat at the hands of Bulgaria's Stanimira Petrova, Artingstall would be given a second chance to fulfil her dream with a box-off victory in June's European qualifiers held in Paris.
The European Olympic Boxing qualifiers were a continuation of the Road to Tokyo European Olympic qualifier in London that was suspended after just three days of competition because of the coronavirus pandemic back in March 2020.
Artingstall defeated Keamogetse Sadie Kenosi of Botswana via unanimous decision in her opening round at the Olympics to progress into the quarter-finals on June 24.
She could have scored a knockdown inside the opening 30 seconds of the fight after landing a punch. However, Kenosi - on one knee - complained about her headguard and the referee did not rule it as a knockdown. Artingstall won the contest 5-0.
Artingstall progressed to the quarter-finals and defeated Skye Nicolson of Australia 3-2 to guarentee herself a medal at the Games.
However, in a closely fought contest, which could have gone either way, Artingstall was knocked out by Japan's Sena Irie in the semi-finals of the featherweight tournament. Her elimination saw her win bronze.
"I knew it was close, I started slowly and catching up is a nightmare. Ask any boxer in the world, dropping that first round and trying to catch up is absolutely horrible," said Artingstall.
"I tried my best and managed to pick it back up in the second and I know not many girls can match my fitness so I thought I'll stick it on her chest - I was getting caught here and there - and I was doing well. But I am not going to moan about the decision.
"It felt very close, I thought I did enough but it goes to show winning that first round makes a hell of a difference."
Other achievements
Artingstall certainly boasts plenty of experience, and in September 2019, she claimed a silver medal at the European championships in Madrid.
She defeated the aforementioned Stanimira Petrova as well as the home crowd favourite, Jennifer Romero Fernandez.
Following her impressive displays, Artingstall would claim a bronze medal at the World Championships held in Russia just a month later.
However, her semi-final loss to Phillipino Nesty Petecio could be filed under the highly debatable category, with many ring-side observers believing the Briton had done more than enough to earn her shot at a gold medal.
Nonetheless, it has been a seismic rise for the British Army Gunner, who first started competing in the sport for the British Army Boxing Team just a few short years ago.
Personal Life
Artingstall serves with the Royal Artillery and is the military's first female fighter to represent her nation at the Olympics.
Net Worth
Artingstall is believed to have an estimated net worth of $1million.
