Hero's Welcome For World Champion Katie Taylor

A huge buzz of anticipation surrounds Co. Wicklow boxer Katie Taylor following her qualification for the London Olympics.

The 25-year-old from Bray collected for fourth straight World Title in China last week, and now enters the summer Games as Ireland's best hope for a first gold medal since Atlanta in 1996.

Taylor beat her main rival, Russian Sofya Ochigava, for the World championship, but there's no doubt it's the London Olympics that is now firmly in her sights.

"It's unbelievable, this is what I've been training for all year. To win the world title for the fourth time in a row and qualify for the Olympics is amazing," she said after winning her fight.

"For the last couple of years people have been wishing me well for the Olympics and I have had to tell them that I hadn't qualified yet.

"And there was so much pressure on me going into this competition and it's just a big relief to finally qualify and to be going into the Olympics as the current world champion."

2012 is the first Olympics ever to host a Women's Boxing competition and Katie Taylor is a global superstar in the sport.

"I have a week off now and then I'm back into training. It's only seven weeks to the Olympics so it's going to be a hectic few weeks," she said.

"It's always been a dream of mine to represent my country at the Games and come home with the gold.

"I just thank God that I'm there now and I'm going to prepare the best I can. I'll be going to the Olympics in the best shape I've ever been in and hopefully if everything goes well I can come home with a gold medal."

Taylor will now be top-seeded at the Olympics, giving her a bye into the quarter-finals.

It means she will need just one win to be assured of a bronze medal.

But she's the hot favorite for Gold after winning four World, five European and four EU titles and has never been beaten in a major international final.

She's already the focus of a huge Olympic buzz in Ireland, with a starring role in many TV and newspaper advertisements.

The World Championship fights last week were broadcast live on RTE television - unheard-of for a Women's Boxing tournament.

Hundreds of people turned out at Dublin Airport on Sunday night to welcome her home following her victory.