Moylette looks to the future

Moylette looks to the future with hope


Rob Murphy

THERE are so many forgotten stories surrounding the Olympic Games and those who miss out.  Ray Moylette is one.
The Islandeady man was European champion in 2011 and seemingly on the path to London. But he was beaten in the World Championships last October and suffered a shock defeat in the quarter-finals of the National Championships in January, with a hand injury proving key in his defeat. The Olympic dream was over in a shot.
So one would forgive the 22-year-old for at least attempting to steer clear of London 2012 hysteria in the past two weeks – as if that was possible.
“To tell you the truth, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be,” he told The Mayo News.
“The opening ceremony was the worst. But watching the lads and Katie [Taylor], I’m proud of them, and knowing them so well means you’re supporting them that bit more. Watching is definitely not as bad as I thought.”
Yet as Tom Stalker, the man who he beat to win that European title in Turkey, controversially lost out by one point in the Olympic quarter-finals, Moylette was at home in a sea of what ifs and forced to contemplate the long-term future.
“I’m broken-hearted about it,” he said. “I’ve trained so hard to get there and it really hits home when the competition starts. All along at the back of your mind you’re hoping for someone to pull out, that slight chance of a late call-up. But once that was gone, it did hurt.
“I have to keep the head down, keep training hard. Hopefully in four years time I can look back at this as a part of a journey. Looking at the hype brought around Bray this week, obviously you dream of creating the same excitement in Mayo and in Iislandeady at some point in the future and that motivates me.”
The World Championships in Kazakhstan are on the long-term to-do list and it’s just about the next step now.
“We’ll all be back in training camp by the end of September,” said Moylette. “It will be great to get back into it, to see Katie again and the lads and just start to plan for the future. The high performance programme is all focused on reviewing, analysing and developing, and we’ll do that in camp with a view towards the future.”