The devastation of defeat was written on Katie Taylor’s face as she was interviewed moments after being beaten in her Olympic quarter-final.

Finnish fighter Mira Potkonen won the bout on a split decision, bringing Taylor’s defence of her

Katie Taylor admits it has been a very difficult year as she reflects on losing Olympic crown https://t.co/mrA7PmWJhl

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 15, 2016

The Bray fighter struggled to bring her emotions under control as she began the interview with RTÉ.

It seemed cruel to even expect her to face the cameras so soon after the loss, but she showed her grit to compose herself and speak with dignity and class.

She admitted that she was heartbroken by the loss and, coming on the back of other defeats in the past months, described it as a “difficult year”.

But she refused to make excuses for the outcome. When the reporter suggested the bye into the last 16 had hurt her she acknowledged it was a long wait but said he preparation had been good in the build up.

And she showed a flash of spirit when she said: “I should be beating those girls, those girls shouldn’t be defeating me.”

She closed the interview by once again thanking everyone for their support.