Echo Sports Awards 2019: McDonagh a rising force
NEILSTOWN Boxing Club’s Winnie Christina McDonagh picked up ‘The Echo 2019 Emerging Athlete of the Year’ title following a season that featured a brilliant silver medal win at the European Junior Championships.
A gold medal winner in last year’s European Schoolgirl Championships, the Clondalkin competitor was one of the youngest contenders in the Junior Europeans in which she won three fights en route to the Women’s 63kg Final where she was narrowly edged out by Italy’s Viola Piras on a 3-2 split decision.
Emerging Athlete of the Year, Winnie Christina McDonagh, with family and friends
She secured her place in the Europeans after capturing the Girls Open Senior Cadet Light Welterweight title.
A gold medallist in the Michael Andrews Leinster Championships, McDonagh also starred as a guest boxer for Sacred Heart in their major tournament against Centre Ring in Las Vegas in October.
“I was shocked when I heard my name called out” said McDonagh after Thursday’s Awards Night in the Green Isle Hotel.
“I had no idea I was going to win it and I thought, maybe next year, so I was delighted when I won it.”
