Beyond The Ropes: Elise Glynn

Beyond The Ropes: Elise Glynn

The last time I spoke to Elise Glynn was towards the end of 2023. Her long-time dream of competing in the Olympics was seemingly within reach. But the relentless and unforgiving Olympic cycle had other ideas. A failure to qualify for Paris ended in disappointment and reflection. But Glynn is back and once again chasing her ultimate dream. “I’m only 23, and when the next Olympics come around I’ll be 26. I know the best of me is yet to come.”

It was a still somewhat reflective Elsie Glynn as she relayed the disappointment of that Olympic qualification process.

“It was hard to get my head around,” Glynn told FightPost. “I thought I did enough at the first qualifier against Irma Testa, and so did the performance director. The second qualifier was a close encounter with three fights, two wins against Latvia and China, and a split loss to Turkey. The last qualifier was a bitter pill to swallow. It was a bad performance on the day, and I had a long wait to box. But I only have myself to blame.”

The following months saw a period of reflection and a move to a new weight category.

“I took just under three months off, something I’ve not done in nearly ten years of boxing. I mentally prepared myself to step into the GB gym again and I realised that I’m still young, I’ve been on the programme since only October 2022 and really I was thought of as a boxer who could make the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, who just performed well against world-class opponents early on.

“I then made the decision to move to 60kg for health reasons and boxed after a few weeks of coming back in Mongolia where I got a Bronze medal and then in Finland in October I got a silver medal at the new weight class. Both showed signs of mental strength and character after coming back from that defeat in Thailand and the end of my Olympic dream.”

During that long period of reflection, there were fleeting thoughts about leaving the amateur code behind her. “I had some conversations about the professional ranks,” Glynn told me. “But what example is that setting to the young girls that follow me? To give up on your childhood dream? The qualification for Los Angeles is only in three years.”

Glynn has spent time on the sidelines due to a concussion-related absence towards the end of last year. “The concussion happened in the semi-final in Finland, where I got accidentally head-butted in an inside encounter as her head came up. I boxed the next day,” Glynn says of how the concussion came about.

Elise Glynn is now back and looking to make up for lost time in her new weight category. “My goals this year are to become the best version of myself. Focus on me, and box my best, and therefore, the decisions should, in turn, make themselves. All being well I’ll progress at 60kg and make a name for myself. I would like to represent GB at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games next year.”

Glynn is only 23, but she is aware that as well as chasing her own immense goals, she wants to also inspire others. “I want to show the younger boxers coming through the junior and youth program that it’s okay to fail and bounce back. I have boxed for England since 2016 and GB since 2022, with many setbacks but many comebacks. Nothing changes.” Elsie Glynn is the perfect example of if, at first, you don’t succeed, try and try again. All the disappointment from 2024 has given way to a new belief that in Los Angeles, it will be very different.