Broadhurst, who switched to Team GB after not making the Irish Olympic boxing team last month, is best known for her boxing titles with Ireland. The 27-year-old has won many World, European, Commonwealth Games, and other honours during her career. There had been hope that she would make the Irish boxing team, but that wasn't the case.
The Dundalk boxer preferred fighting at 60 kg, but countries can only qualify one boxer per weight for Paris, and reigning Olympic lightweight champion Kellie Harrington has already secured qualification.
Shortly after this, rumours emerged that Broadhurst would be making a switch to Team GB, and those rumours came true days later. Broadhurst qualifies for the team through her father, Tony, who is English.
Her Paris Olympic dream is now at an end for the second time.
Commenting on the loss, the boxer released a statement on her Instagram, sharing her thoughts on the defeat.
"My heart hurts like it’s never hurt before. There has been a dream inside of me since I was a little girl, and today that flame slowly died out. My whole life has all been about the Olympic Games. I made my life all about boxing, and today I suffered my biggest blow 💔 Some people might criticise my decision to switch allegiance; those people are probably sitting at home and wouldn’t have a pair of balls to do what I did," she said on Instagram.
"If everyone had any idea what I went through for the past 12 months, you would very well understand why I did what I did and that I have no regrets at all about the decisions I’ve made. I gave myself every opportunity I could to get to the Olympic Games, but that wasn’t God’s plan for me.
"I checked every box in the book, I trained my ass off, and I did everything correctly, and I’m proud of myself."
The boxing phenom also claimed in the same post that she had no regrets about choosing Team GB and was sorry she couldn't pay back the people who believed in her.
"Since joining Team GB, I’ve been made to feel at home. The way I was treated, the people who took me under their wing and did all they could for me, and the boxers themselves made this decision worth it. These people brought back the love for boxing that I was missing and lit a fire in me that I haven’t felt for a long time! I haven’t been this happy in a long time, and I’m very grateful for the people that I got to meet along this journey. They took a chance on me and believed in me, but unfortunately, I couldn’t return the favour," she added.
"I’m taking some time off from social media and boxing now. But I would just like to thank everybody who supported me from Ireland 🇮🇪 and from GB 🇬🇧.
"I would like to thank the GB coaches and staff for all their hard work and making me feel like I belong.
"I’d like to thank the boxers who welcomed me with open arms and made this journey enjoyable ❤️ special shout to @jess_smith for braiding my hair and taking serious snaps 😂
"Thanks for everything, Amy x"
