Leah Gallen will return to Ireland with a bronze medal from the 2018 European Junior Championships.
The Raphoe ABC welterweight lost out to Italian Miriam Tomasone in today’s semi-final in Anapa, Russia.
Gallen, who was making her Irish debut by the Black Sea, had beaten Germany’s Finja Bree in her quarter-final on Friday, sweeping the boards for a 5-0 verdict.
Tomasone edged the first verse of the semi-final, but Gallen was well in the mix for the other two, only to lose out on an agonising 3-2 split decision.
In a scrappy last round, Gallen was deducted a point for holding, a decision that would ultimately prove decisive.
However Gallen returns from her first ever European Championships with a bronze medal – the first in the 30-year history of the Raphoe club.
