Olympic bronze medallist Aidan Walsh has announced his retirement from the ring at the age of 28, with the Belfast boxer focused on providing support for the next generation of Irish pugilists after candidly admitting his own struggles in the sport.
Walsh surprised many by winning bronze in the welterweight division at Tokyo 2020, with his international medal haul augmented by a silver at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in 2018 and a gold at the Games in Birmingham four years later.
That podium place in Tokyo was bittersweet as the fighter didn't get the chance to contest his scheduled semi-final bout due to fracturing his right ankle when getting the verdict over Merven Clair of Mauritius at the quarter-final stage.
Walsh stepped away from the sport for 14 months, opting to prioritise his mental health, before making the late decision to attempt to make it to Paris 2024.
Qualification was secured in the last chance saloon that was a Bangkok box-off, and while his second Olympics ended in his opening bout against home hope Makan Traore, Walsh's achievements between the ropes were all the more impressive given that he was often engulfed in an emotional and psychological maelstrom.
The burden of pressure that Walsh experienced – even if it was internally generated – meant that the sweet science created plenty of sour experiences.
"To be honest, throughout my whole career, I never watched any of my fights back. I never even watched any of my opponents. I never watched boxing."
When asked if he enjoyed his career, Walsh admitted: "I didn't. Looking back at my career, I neglected education, I neglected friendships, and I neglected a lot of things in life due to getting those medals.
"Looking back, I didn't enjoy my career. It's hard to say, but I'll be openly honest, I didn't enjoy it.
"Pressure can do funny things. I was just under so much pressure. Again, due to the success of my sister. I wish I could give my medal to Michaela. Michaela deserves that Olympic medal far more than I do. I was lucky."
Expanding on those unrelenting pressures he experienced, Walsh added: "When you're boxing, it's hard to reflect on it and hard to appreciate it because you're consistently chasing something different.
"You're in that environment and you know what you're trying to look for. You have to be number one, you're consistently trying to improve yourself.
"To be honest, throughout my whole career, I never watched any of my fights back. I never even watched any of my opponents. I never watched boxing.
"There's a thing they call 'analysis review' to do before you go to compete in boxing, you do it with your coach.
"I think I was one of the only boxers that never did it because I just couldn't. The pressure was so much. It put so much pressure on me.
"I'd be an overthinker as it is.
"When I look back now, I can watch it a wee bit, I can dip into wee bits and pieces of it without that sort of emotional distress, so I appreciate it a lot better now."
With greater perspective and time away from the ring, that last reflection is hopefully one that comes to dominate Walsh's thoughts more.
His retirement is a predictable one and the fighter said: "I've known for quite a while.
"It's public knowledge that I've struggled over the last while, I've found it hard and sport has been quite difficult."
With his own sporting endeavours disappearing in the rear-view mirror, Walsh is eager to harness his own experiences, regardless of how painful some of them may be, to help young fighters.
"I managed to do well enough in my career to put me in a position to try and help other people," he said.
"For me, I'd just be greedy and wanting more for myself if I was to compete, and now I'm in a position in my life where I want to help the next level of Irish boxers coming through and really contribute to Irish boxing in a way that helps them and helps it to remain the most successful Olympic sport in Ireland."
Walsh paid tribute to the role his tight-knit family, including the aforementioned Michaela – a fellow boxing Olympian, played in his own journey in the sport. He hopes to be there to offer future prospects similar support.
"It's been hard. Without the support of my mummy, my daddy, my sisters, my girlfriend, my family, I wouldn't have been able to do it.
"Sport is so, so hard. I come from a real supportive working-class family.
"My girlfriend supports me, her family supports me, and I still struggled, whereas now I'm in a position where I've had a wee bit of success and I'm in a position to help others to walk the path and make sure no one else is alone going through it, because I think there is nothing more daunting or more terrifying than knowing you have to walk a path alone.
"I really mean that. My goal is to contribute to help athletes to make sure that there is someone within that environment to support them and walk along with them, not tell them how to get a better performance or how to win medals or how to achieve success, but to feel psychologically safe."
"I'm not looking to go down the road of coaching; my whole goal is athlete wellbeing."
Unsurprisingly, Walsh didn't hesitate when asked which facet of the sport he would prioritise for investment, citing: "Athlete welfare. Particularly how the coach-athlete relationship impacts the influence of Irish amateur boxers.
"I'm actually doing research on that now for my Masters degree. I think athlete welfare is so, so crucial.
"I'm not looking to go down the road of coaching; my whole goal is athlete wellbeing. Paul Gaffney, who is a clinical psychologist, changed my life. He really opened up my eyes to making sure that an athlete is one, safe and two, a sense of belonging.
"I think that's so crucial. My passion now truly is to emphasise that and be in a position where I can help athletes feel safe.
"Whether I do or don't, that's the aim, and I would love to do a PhD within Irish boxing to contribute to Irish boxing and what they've done for me and how they've supported me and to give back in a small way."
