Sacha Hickey and Okoh’s flat-mate Patris Mughalzai also won gold in the space of two hours, with a further four English finalists boxing later. It was the most finalists England have ever had at a Commonwealth Games but they could not surpass the six golds from the 2018 event. Damar Thomas delivered a fourth boxing gold in the final fight of the day but Ruby White, Chantelle Reid and Oladimeji Shittu all had to settle for silver after losing their bouts in the evening session.
Many of the best British amateur boxers live together in flats in Sheffield, training daily and gathering for big pay-per-view fight nights, as part of the Team GB Olympic squad under the tutelage of performance director Rob McCracken. “It’s a tight-knit group, everyone helps out, we cook for each other,” Okoh said. “We’re all achieving amazing things at the minute. Rob knows everything that’s going on in Sheffield – it’s a great environment and a brilliant group of people to train with.
“Come LA [2028 Olympics], I’ll be looking to win another gold medal. You’re going to see us back at the top of the podium again.”
Hickey, from Eltham in south-east London, began boxing at a gym on the Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke when she was “five or six” and the only girl in the gym. “I mainly sparred all the boys, and my brother Aaron was around the same weight as me, so we’d have a move about together as well,” said the 22-year-old, who would also practise on her Nintendo Wii. “I remember shadow-boxing in front of the TV and somehow I’ve ended up here today.”