Pritchard shines at the London ExCeL Arena

As women made their long awaited debut at the Olympic Games, three of the athletes competing on the ninth day of competition were involved in the AIBA Road to London program three-week training camp. Amongst those, Alexis Pritchard ensured her presence in the quarter-finals with a confidence boosting win.

Auckland-based Pritchard, who is trained by coach and husband Cameron Todd at the City Boxing Club, is one of the best women boxers to come from the Oceania region. With her ten years of experience now and the training she received in Cardiff as part of teh AIBA funded camp, she was primed to do well in the competition. He strength lies in her height and cool-head and she put those attributes to good use against Tunisia's AIBA Women's World Championships bronze medallist Rim Jouini in the first preliminary round in London. Pritchard went on to win 15:10 to set up a meeting with Russia's two-time AIBA World Champion Sofya Ochigava.

New Zealand's Arafura Games silver medallist Siona Fatima Fernandes, who competed at two AIBA Women's World Championships, secured her place for the Olympics in May. She was also selected to take part in the AIBA Road to London Program but unfortunately came up against Bulgaria's European Championships bronze medallist Stoyka Petrova who defeated her 23:11.

Kenya's Elizabeth Andiego, a two-time National Champion, got international experience at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Championships and then trained in the Welsh capital for three weeks with the Kiwi pair. She pushed Kazakhstan's AIBA Women's World Championships silver medallist and Asian Champion Marina Volnova all the way ExCel Arena but was unfortunately defeated.

Source:  www.aiba-london2012.com/index.php/news/537-pritchard-shines-at-the-london-excel-arena

Source:  www.aiba-london2012.com/index.php/boxers