Karriss Artingstall Army's First-Ever Female Boxer To Qualify For Olympics

British Army boxer Karriss Artingstall has become the Army's first-ever female boxer to qualify for an Olympic Games.

Artingstall, who serves with the Royal Artillery, went into the European Qualifiers needing to win two fights in order to book her ticket to Tokyo.

She started the event well, beating Belarusian boxer Helina Bruyevich on Friday night.

That gave the 2019 European Championship silver medal winner the chance to qualify against Stanimira Petrova from Bulgaria on Sunday.

However, a split decision defeat had Artingstall facing potential heartbreak.

She needed to regroup and recover going into a must-win bout against Stephanie Thour from Sweden just a day after her defeat.

The GB boxer did just that – winning on a unanimous points decision to make her Tokyo dream come true.

She is the 11th Team GB boxer to qualify, capping off a good weekend for the British camp.

After the result, military personnel have congratulated Artingstall on her Olympic qualification.

Cover image: PA/Alamy.