Northern Ireland break Commonwealth Games gold medal record as boxers take haul to seven on Super Sunday

Aidan Walsh celebrates with his gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Dylan Eagleson celebrates after winning Men's Bantamweight Gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Game (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

thumbnail: Aidan Walsh celebrates with his gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
thumbnail: Dylan Eagleson celebrates after winning Men's Bantamweight Gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Game (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Adam McKendry

Northern Ireland have broken their record for the most gold medals won at one Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after five boxers won their respective Finals on Super Sunday at the NEC Arena.

Jude Gallagher, Dylan Eagleson, Amy Broadhurst and both Walsh siblings, Aidan and Michaela, all claimed top spot on the podium on Super Sunday, taking Northern Ireland's number of golds to seven at this year's Games.

The quintet join swimmer Bethany Firth and the Men’s Fours lawn bowls team as the Northern Irish athletes who have claimed gold, which beats their previous record of five from the Victoria Games in 1994.

Gallagher was the first to be awarded his medal after opponent Joseph Commey withdrew from their Featherweight Final, the Ghanaian declared medically unfit to participate on Sunday morning which resulted in a walkover for the 20-year-old.

Two Castles club man Gallagher also got a walkover in the Semi-Final when Canadian opponent Keoma-Ali al-Ahmadieh withdrew but he had looked very impressive in his previous three fights, so it is a well-deserved medal.

That was followed by Eagleson picking up gold as well, although this time his was won in the ring as he claimed a unanimous points victory over Ghana's Abraham Mensah in the Bantamweight Final in Birmingham.

The European silver medallist, from Bangor, was behind after a strong opening round from Mensah, but he rallied superbly to claim the second and third rounds in dominant style which saw his hand raised at the end of the bout.

And Walsh then added to the gold medal haul, this time in the Light Middleweight division as he picked up a commanding unanimous points win over Mozambique's Tiago Osorio Muxanga.

The Emerald ABC man won the first two rounds on all five judges' scorecards, meaning he just need to navigate the final round safely to win, and although Muxanga did bite back, it wasn't enough to prevent Walsh from winning on all five cards overall.

The 25-year-old adds his gold to the silver he won at the 2018 Gold Coast Games and the gold from the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2015, as well as the bronze medal he claimed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Broadhurst quickly followed as she cruised to her own unanimous points decision victory over Gemma Richardson in the Women's Lightweight Final as the 25-year-old continues a stunning year in the ring.

The Dundalk-born star added Commonwealth gold to her World Championships gold after she won on all five judges' scorecards, helped by Richardson taking a warning in round two, to stand atop the podium.

And Michaela Walsh rounded it all off with another one-sided performance in the Women's Featherweight Final, easily defeating Nigeria's Elizabeth Oshoba by unanimous decision to finally pick up a Commonwealth gold.

After winning silver in Glasgow and the Gold Coast, the 29-year-old won all three rounds of her fight on four of the five judges' cards on her way to a long-awaited gold medal, following in the footsteps of brother Aidan.

Meanwhile, Carly McNaul claimed a silver medal - Northern Ireland's 13th medal of the Games - in the Women's Light Flyweight division as she lost her Final to world champion Zareen Nikhat.

The Belfast woman will have few complaints as India's Nikhat beat her 30-27 on all five judges' scorecards in a unanimous decision defeat, but she will be very proud to be coming away with the silver medal for her efforts.