Irish Magno (born July 27, 1991) is a Filipino

amateur boxer An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

who has represented the Philippines in international amateur competitions including the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

and the

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. She has also qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, becoming the first female Filipino boxer to qualify for the Games. She did not win for her country but managed to get to the second round for her weight category.

Education

In 2020, Magno was pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminology at the

University of Baguio The University of Baguio (UB; ), formerly Baguio Technical and Commercial Institute (Baguio Tech), is a private, Filipino, multidisciplinary, autonomous university in Baguio, Philippines. It was founded by Fernando Gonzaga Bautista and Rosa Ca ...

Career

Magno's boxing career started when she was 16 years old. While watching amateur boxers train at the town plaza of her hometown of

Janiuay Janiuay, officially the Municipality of Janiuay (, , , Spanish: ''Municipio de Janiuay''), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,786 people. The town was created in 176 ...

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

, she was approached by a coach. The coach encouraged her to try out boxing due to her height. Prior to that time, Magno had an impression that boxing is exclusively for men. She competed at the National Open, Youth and Women's Amateur Boxing Championship which was hosted in Iloilo, learning that she would be competing in the national championship only three days prior. She was eliminated in the first round, with her opponent being Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Annie Albania. She joined the Philippine national boxing team and moved to Manila upon learning that boxing could support her education due to her family's financial situation, with her mother being a housewife and her father a carpenter. Magno also had an older sister who was pursuing her collegiate studies. The opportunity to support her family financially is what kept Magno from quitting boxing. Magno's first gold medal in an international competition was won at the 2012 Taipei Open in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. She has also regularly participated in the Southeast Asian Games, representing the Philippines in the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, and 2019 editions. Her silver medal in the women's flyweight division was in the 2019 games was her best finish in the Southeast Asian Games. She lost to Vietnam's Nguyễn Thị Tâm in that event's final. In the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

–

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

, she competed in the bantamweight division. She qualified for the

in March 2020 via the Asia/Oceania qualifiers held in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. Magno became the first-ever female boxer representing the Philippines to qualify for the Olympics. However the Olympics itself was postponed to next year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and had to train virtually with her national coaches from her hometown in

where she also decided to set up a boxing clinic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magno, Irish 1991 births Filipino women boxers Boxers at the 2018 Asian Games Boxers at the 2022 Asian Games SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in boxing Sportspeople from Iloilo Competitors at the 2013 SEA Games Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games University of Baguio alumni Living people Flyweight boxers Bantamweight boxers Asian Games boxers for the Philippines Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the Philippines Filipino LGBTQ sportspeople LGBTQ boxers Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games