Driving to Dublin — it’s, well, a long way from Tipperary. Too long for Dean Gardiner, especially with a new baby and full-time university courses.
The Irish super heavyweight boxer tried to endure the grind of traveling and training for another shot at the Olympics, but he’s called it a career.
The four-time Irish champion said the Tokyo Olympics, delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, are no longer his top priority.
“I just couldn’t do it all,” the 32-year-old Gardiner said of his packed schedule, which included driving several times per week from Tipperary to Ireland’s high-performance training center in the capital 100 miles away.