Katie Taylor retains top spot as Ireland’s most admired athlete

DUBLIN (AP) — Champion boxer Katie Taylor has been named Ireland’s “most admired athlete” for the eighth straight year, and two other women round out the top three.

Taylor took 15% of the vote in the Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index, released on Thursday, a month after she retained her undisputed super lightweight championship in a unanimous decision over Amanda Serrano.

Next on the list was sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke (11%) followed by two-time Olympic boxing champion Kellie Harrington (10%).

The Olympic rowing gold medal pair Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy jointly were fourth with rugby international Bundee Aki, and trailblazing jockey Rachael Blackmore was next.

The 38-year-old Taylor beat Serrano in a slugfest at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys before the co-main event of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. Paul won a unanimous decision but the real fireworks on the evening were provided by Taylor and Serrano — in a rematch of their epic 2022 bout at Madison Square Garden also won by Taylor.

In the annual survey of 1,000 people, national pride appears to be as much a factor as support of specific sports — as boxing doesn’t rank among the favorites. Gaelic Games topped the list, followed by soccer and rugby.