WORLD champion Lauren Price has realised her childhood dream after being officially named in the Team GB squad for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Price, the only Welsh boxer, male or female, to win a world amateur title, will be hoping to add to a string of major successes at the biggest sporting event on the planet.

Ystrad Mynach’s Price, who celebrates her 27th birthday today, shot to fame in 2018 when winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, before that world middleweight crown the following year.

However, it was her performance at the Olympic qualifying event in Paris earlier this month which cemented her spot in the British team.

She won the two bouts required to secure qualification and then went on to win competition gold.

Price is now one of an 11-strong boxing team ready to compete in Japan.

Following the team announcement, Price said: “It has been my dream to compete at the Olympic Games since I was eight years old so to finally have the opportunity is amazing, particularly after everything we have had to go through in the last year or so.

“It will be the highlight of my career to date and I am really looking forward to competing on the biggest stage of all.”

Originally set to take place last summer, the pandemic delayed the entire event by a year, though this has not dampened the expectations on the Team GB boxing team, which has proved to be a pathway into superstardom for the likes of Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams, and Amir Khan.

This year, four women and seven men make up the team, and Price is not the only athlete boasting a strong record ahead of the event, with Galal Yafai and Pat McCormack returning for their second Olympic Games.

Boxing team leader and GB Boxing’s performance director, Rob McCracken said: “To qualify 11 boxers is a fantastic achievement especially as the boxers only had one competitive opportunity to earn a place at the Tokyo Olympics.

“The last 12 months has been very challenging for us all but the coaches and support staff have done a great job of preparing the team and the boxers have delivered when it matters most.

“This is a very talented group with quite a lot of experience and provided they continue to prepare well, work hard and listen to the coaches they have every chance of being successful at the Olympic Games.”

Team GB chef de mission for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Mark England, added: “There is huge amount of strength and talent among the boxers selected to Team GB for the Tokyo Olympic Games and their impressive performances in Paris last month demonstrate how deserving they all are of their selection.”

Also going to Tokyo are Charley Davison (flyweight), Karriss Artingstall (featherweight), Caroline Dubois (lightweight), Peter McGrail (featherweight), Luke McCormack (lightweight), Ben Whittaker (light-heavyweight), Cheavon Clarke (heavyweight) and Frazer Clarke (super-heavyweight).