“I’m going, I’ve done it.”

Those are the words of Rosie Eccles, embarking on her maiden Olympics having missed out narrowly on going to Tokyo three years ago.

Eccles is the reigning light middleweight Commonwealth Games champion, having gone one better than her welterweight silver four years prior.

“It all started when I was 15, looking through the window of a boxercise class in my hometown leisure centre,” says Eccles.

“You weren’t supposed to join until you were 16 but the trainer allowed me to join. It sounds a bit clichéd but the second I put the gloves on I knew it was what I wanted.

“The trainer saw something in me and agreed that I could join an early morning training session he ran in Newport when I turned 16.

“I bought a moped and I used to go to bed in my clothes, set my alarm for 3:30 in the morning, sneak out, push my moped down the street so I didn’t wake anyone and go to Newport.

“Then I’d box from 5-6:30, come back home, sneak back in and get ready for school.”

Lighting the Olympic Flame

The routine couldn’t last forever however, and eventually Eccles’ father told her to attend a local gym. Initially, that came with its own barrier.

“To begin with, the local gym didn’t train girls,” says Eccles.

“The coach was more than 70, but despite his beliefs at that time, he changed them, saw something in me to become a boxer and gave me a chance.

“Every coach I’ve had has been male and been amazing, they’ve moved mountains for me.

“When I started, I initially kept my boxing a secret in case people thought I was different, but times have changed since then. I have two nieces, one is a keen footballer, the other is a keen rugby player, I’d have loved to have played rugby growing up.”

All the hard work, training and early hours were in pursuit of becoming an Olympian, Eccles’ dream since she was eight years old.

“I remember Kelly Holmes winning her middle-distance double at Athens in 2004,” says Eccles.

“Ever since then I wanted to become an Olympian. What’s special about the Olympics is that everyone watches it and feels part of it and their families feel a part of it too.”

‘Heartbreaking’ Disappointment and Debilitating Illness

Eccles’ dream led her to within a whisker of selection for GB in 2021, however sickness and bad luck pressed pause on her Olympic hopes.

“I became sick in a camp in America, with what was probably Covid, within a week I had pain in my neck and eventually it increased to the extent that I lost 80% function on my right side,” says Eccles.

“In the end it turned out to be Brachial neuritis caused by Covid, which attacked my nerves under my armpit. The condition effects one in every 300,000 so it’s a ridiculous chance. Every time I get Covid, it attacks my nerves. It’s attacked my right side twice, left side once, and my legs once.

“I’d lost during the early rounds of a qualifier on a split decision and then because of the pandemic the second qualifier was cancelled. Eventually they decided to take the first person on each continent per their points.

“I was second. I kept fighting throughout the year, beat four or five people that were going but it was not meant to be.

“To go through that and then to hopefully be successful at the Games would be an amazing achievement.”

Despite the setback, Eccles stayed back to help fellow Welsh boxer Lauren Price with her training.

“When the camp ended, they all flew off to Tokyo and I drove home, cried the whole way,” says Eccles.

“It was heartbreaking.

“That’s what makes this so special, it’s meant to be. All my siblings and their families are coming out along with my old man, boyfriend and some friends, they couldn’t have done that for Tokyo.

“We had a nice send off by GB the other week and there was a big screen and all my family popped up one by one to wish me well. I’m not one to cry but I had tears in my eyes on the drive home, all I could think was, ‘I’m going, I’ve done it!’.”

‘My Heart Wants That Gold’

Eccles now has an opportunity to replicate Price’s achievements from Tokyo and win a gold medal.

“I’ve got tremendous self-confidence but I’m not daft enough to say I’ll breeze through anyone,” says Eccles.

“There’s no margin for error, you’ve got to win five fights and the first one is always the bogey fight, it’s the one you’ve got to get right. Well, you’ve got to get them all right, but you can’t afford to get that first one wrong.

“The margins are really small, you can’t afford to have an off minute, you do that and you’re out.

“In every other competition at the Olympics you win a silver medal. However, in boxing you lose a gold so it’s a slightly different mentality. Also, we’re not wired to be able to lose.

“I’m pulled in every direction, but my heart wants that gold. My head tells me that I should be happy with a medal and the semi-finals is a good marker where you can go on with something in your back pocket assured of at least a bronze medal, but I want that gold.”

To achieve her goal, Eccles will have to call upon the “huge advantage” of Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games where she won gold.

“When you compete at the Olympics you carry a big weight with you,” says Eccles.

“It’s not merely the funding you’ve received but your performance determines the funding for future generations as well. For me, that pressure adds fuel to the fire.

“Then you add the pressure of the crowd. I’ve seen some people be really influenced by a crowd and fight in a completely different way than they planned.

“From my experience you’ve got to screw it up to get it right.

“The Commonwealth Games was the best moment of my career to date. It was my last chance there and I put lots of pressure on myself and expected a lot of myself. I didn’t have an easy route and still came out with the gold.”

Professional Aspirations?

When Eccles finally set foot in the Olympic village it was the cause of a double celebration as it coincided with her 28th birthday.

“When you set foot in the Olympic village, it is so iconic,” says Eccles.

“We all know how mad the Olympic village is so hopefully I can find a quiet corner but then again with boxing I’m used to the madness.

“I’ve been in the village for the Commonwealth Games and other villages across the globe, but this is extra special, and nothing will compare to this.

“If you get through to the latter stages of the tournament, you get the opportunity to box at Roland Garos on the tennis courts. That’ll be incredible, I’d love nothing more than that.”

After the Olympics, what’s next? Could Eccles follow in the footsteps of the likes of Lauren Price and Joe Cordina and go from the Olympics to the professional boxing world?

Despite acknowledging that any future career and Saudi deals depend on her performances at the games, Eccles is not prepared to look beyond the challenge which is in front of her for the time being.

“I’ve dreamt my whole life of this moment and think about it often. When it comes, I don’t want to look past it as I don’t know what I’ll do next,” says Eccles.

“The opportunities available in professional boxing are huge, opportunities which weren’t there 15 years ago.

“I’m often told that my style suits professional boxing and people say I’m never in a boring fight, but I’ve not engaged in anything yet.

“My sole focus is on the Olympics and whatever happens after, will happen.”

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