Kellie Harrington did the nation proud this morning in Tokyo, taking home a gold medal on the final day of the Olympics for Ireland - and one moment at the medal ceremony was missed by RTÉ and would have made the nation even more proud of Kellie.
Kellie Harrington shows brilliant sportsmanship at Olympic medal ceremony
Harrington took home a gold medal after a unanimous victory over Brazilian Beatriz Ferreira in the early hours of Sunday morning. It was an incredible win, especially considering she had narrowly lost the first round.
The medal ceremony took place shortly after, with Kellie Harrington proudly taking the top step of the podium, and it was an emotional moment for the Dubliner.
Beautiful tears. Gold medal tears.#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/lMPCMQSw6D
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) August 8, 2021
A sporting woman to the last, Harrington made sure to give the other medalists the recognition they deserved. With Ferreira and the two bronze medalists about to leave the podium, Harrington pulled them all on to the top step to celebrate their achievement.
The four medalists then embraced, in a touching moment that represented all that is great about the Olympics.
This was missed by RTE. A beautiful moment between all the medalists #kellieharrington pic.twitter.com/IpLgZKo5Wy
— damien o brien (@D_obsy) August 8, 2021
It's perfectly in character for Harrington as well, with the Dubliner sportingly raising the arm of all those she fought during the Tokyo Games and ensuring to embrace and congratulate all on their achievements.
Her reaction to seeing the footage of crowds in Portland Row was another example of her brilliantly down-to-earth nature, as she exclaimed, "I didn't even think anyone would be up watching!"
“I didn’t even think anyone would be up watching”
Kellie Harrington reacts as @RTEsport’s @jacquihurley shows her the scenes from home as she boxed her way home to Olympic gold 🥇🇮🇪
What a moment… We’re not crying, we just have something in our eye… #TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/EmCzwdPLYC— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 8, 2021
The medal ceremony at Tokyo 2020 is just another example of the brilliant sportsmanship of Kellie Harrington, and it's hard to think of a more fitting gold medalist for Ireland. Harrington has done the country proud, and we can hopefully look forward to seeing her contend for gold yet again at Paris 2024.