Reid and Thomas secure gold-medal bouts at European Boxing Championships
Chantelle Reid beat Serbia's Milena Matovic 3-2 in the light-middleweight semi-final, while Damar Thomas defeated Azerbaijan's Mahammad Abdullayev 5-0 in the super-heavyweight. Both will fight for gold on Friday. Callum Makin and Dimeji Shittu also guaranteed medals after quarter-final wins.
Reid, 28, recovered from a slow start against Matovic, winning the second round unanimously and edging the third to secure her final berth. She will face Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli, who beat Russia's Nadezhda Golubeva 3-2. Thomas, 21, dominated his semi-final with a clean 5-0 sweep over Abdullayev and will meet Russia's David Surov.
Shittu and Makin both advanced to Thursday's semi-finals, guaranteeing themselves medals. Shittu, a Commonwealth silver medallist, beat Austria's Lucky Aimufua 5-0 and faces Russia's Cheerav Ashalaev. Makin, a world bronze medallist, edged Armenia's Marat Mikaelyan 3-2 and meets Azerbaijan's Saidjamshid Jafarov. Mackie and Broadhurst lost their quarter-finals.
This success could boost British boxing's profile ahead of major international competitions, inspiring younger athletes to pursue the sport. The guaranteed medals may strengthen funding arguments for the GB Boxing programme, while the finals themselves could draw new audiences to amateur boxing. However, individual outcomes remain uncertain, and broader societal impact depends on sustained results rather than a single tournament.