The Irish Boxing team held a press conference in Dublin yesterday before heading away to Italy for a final training camp before the games.
Katie Taylor was the only one missing, issuing a statement apologising that ‘every session is crucial’ and planned well in advance.  She was represented by coach and Dad pete Taylor though who expressed his personal belief that London may be her farewell tournament to the sport.
An Olympic medal would be the last thing to achieve for the four time world champions and Taylor suggested a return to soccer might be on the cards.  That would certainly add to the momentum behind women’s sport in a team environment.
Taylor’s value to commercial sponsors was highlighted again earlier in the week when Toyota, with whom she has a partnership presented her with a fan wall showing messages of support drawn from the company’s online and social media channels.
Social media was also uppermost in the Boxing High Performance manager who said the team would discuss social media as part of their overall approach to ‘distractions’ in London.  Walsh gave good advice in saying that boxers should only post content if they would be happy to have it tattooed on their foreheads.
With London being styled as the first ‘Socialympics’ the facebook and twitter arenas will be carefully monitored by regulators and marketers alike to see what can be learned about association with stars and sports that attract huge followings.
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