“Watching him win an Olympic medal brings a joy to me I’ve never felt” – Michaela Walsh emotional after her brother secures bronze

"That’s my baby bro!"

Aidan and Michaela Walsh made history this year by being the first brother and sister to qualify for the Ireland boxing Olympic team. Naturally, the dream was to go one step further and see both of them medal at Tokyo, but unfortunately Michaela lost her opening bout in a very tight fight. Not discouraged or deflated, she took her role as big sister to a whole new level when supporting her brother, as he continued his Olympic journey, and when he beat Merven Clair to secure at least a bronze medal, she was visibly emotional. Throughout the fight you can hear her cheering for her little bro, and the images shown of her celebrating afterwards, are ones of pure ecstasy and delight. The Belfast native took to Twitter to try and articulate how she was feeling.

"Me and my brother Aidan have trained together and grown together our whole lives. "When me and him qualified for the Olympic Games on the same day, it was the most special day of my life, but watching him win an Olympic medal brings a joy to me I’ve never felt. "That’s my baby bro!" https://twitter.com/michaelaw57/status/1421002462467543042

The younger sibling paid tribute to his sister in his post match interview and it's clear to see the special bond that these two have.

"She's my best friend. When I was younger, everybody was afraid of my big sister, it wasn't a big brother! "I would do anything for her and she would do anything for me. "If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here because I would have stopped boxing. When I was younger, running about the streets, she was the one who told me 'wind your neck in' and saw the talent I had."