Chantelle Reid during the Team GB Paris 2024 Kitting Out in Birmingham GETTY IMAGES

The British boxer was forced out of the sport by a degenerative disc injury when she was just 17. She was a star destined to turn professional and compete at the Olympics.  She now has the chance to prove it.

A dream interrupted for eight years. That is the experience overcome by Chantelle Reid. In 2015 she had to quit boxing, but in 2023 she managed to come back. She competed at a high level and earned her place to represent Great Britain in Paris.

Before retiring, she was European junior champion and world bronze medallist in the same category. But she was diagnosed with a degenerative disc injury. She was 17 years old and had to make the decision she least wanted to make.

She worked as a children's coach at her family's gym near her native Derby. Thanks to that, she kept her passion for boxing. Reid acknowledges that her family has been crucial. The support she needed to get on with her life. She managed to learn the sport, with the guidance of her father and grandfather, her coaches. Then came the opportunity to get back in the ring.



In 2020 she made the decision. A difficult start. So many years without boxing were noticeable. She needed time to recover her physique. Reid got back into shape and in 2023 he won the National Senior Elite Championship. The boxer was already in the race to reach the Games.

Reid says the road to get there has been the most enjoyable. It took a lot of hard work. Though she has found the reward and has regained the sleep the doctors told her she had not to forget.

National Lottery support for sport has come Reid's way. It has allowed her to train fully for success and is already in Paris. Reid will compete at middleweight in a week's time, on 31 July, she will step into the ring for the first time at the Games and is sure that the gold medal is reserved for her.