is a Japanese retired

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 won a gold medal in the inaugural women's featherweight event at 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 ...

. She became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.

Biography

Irie was born in

Yonago is a Cities of Japan, city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 146,139 in 68,534 households and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is the prefecture's second ...

, Japan in 2000. She took up boxing when she was seven years old at a local gym. Irie was inspired to box from the

sports manga is a genre of Japanese manga and anime that focuses on stories involving sports and other athletic and competitive pursuits. Though Japanese animated works depicting sports were released as early as the 1920s, sports manga did not emerge as a di ...

television series '' Ganbare Genki'', which features a character who wants to become a boxer. She also took her inspiration from frogs. At the

in Tokyo, Irie beat Karriss Artingstall of Great Britain in the semi-finals of the women's featherweight, and then went on to beat Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines in the final to win the gold medal. At the time of winning her gold medal, Irie was a university student at Nippon Sport Science University. Irie later stated that she would retire from boxing after graduating, with plans to work for a company making video games. In September 2022, she announced that she would retire from boxing after her graduation in spring 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irie, Sena 2000 births Living people Japanese women boxers Olympic boxers for Japan People from Yonago, Tottori Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Tottori Prefecture Olympic medalists in boxing Olympic gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Japanese sportswomen