Ireland is rightly proud of our Olympic heritage in boxing. Prior to the Paris Games, half of the medals won by Ireland - 18 of 35 - had been earned in the ring. On Tuesday night, Kellie Harrington became the most successful of them all winning her second gold medal. She could argue, and indeed has argued, that if it wasn’t for Katie Taylor she’d have won a third medal too.
At the Rio Games, Harrington was working with RTE providing expert analysis as Katie Taylor was shocked in the quarter finals by Finland’s Mira Potkonen. Months earlier Kellie had won silver in the World Championships at the 64kg category, having only moved up as Taylor was immovable in the 60kg lightweight division.
As Katie moved to the professional ranks, Kellie moved back to her natural 60kgs and had immediate success. After a bronze in the Europeans, she won gold in the 2018 World Championships. She joined Katie Taylor and Michael Conlon as the only Irish boxers to call themselves world champions in the amateur game.
Injuries and Ireland’s departure from the IBA have meant Kellie hasn’t competed at the World Championships since. One tournament at 60kg, one gold medal.
At European level she won silver in the 2019 European Games, with an injured hand preventing her from taking part in the final. She’d win gold at the 2019 Games, the 2022 European Championships and the qualification tournament for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. In major championships, Kellie was unbeaten from 2018 until just prior to these Paris Games.
While medals, even gold medals, in European and World Championships are nice, it’s in the Olympics that legends are born. And so it transpired in Tokyo in 2021.
After an opening round win over Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli, Harrington beat Imane Khelif - currently in the news - on all score cards to guarantee her Olympic medal. A tight semi win over Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee put her into the final against the reigning world champion. Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira was no match for the Dubliner and Kellie Harrington was an Olympic champion.
Dublin’s Portland Row and the wider Dublin 1 area erupted as the gold medal winner was announced and the party lasted for days. Harrington’s unassuming character made her easy to like and the story of a hospital worker turned Olympic champion went global.
The second mountain
In the three years that followed, she had to deal with increased scrutiny on her private life and increased expectations on her boxing career. In Paris, she let her boxing do the talking.
If anyone had doubted her form, they were quickly put right as the imperious Harrington won her opening two bouts with relative ease to guarantee her second Olympic medal. A semi final win over the superb Ferreira set up another showcase final and Kellie wouldn’t be denied. China’s Wang Yenlu - another world champion herself - was put to the sword by the Irishwoman and Kellie Harrington was back-to-back Olympic champion. Dublin 1 could party again.
‘I think I’ve earned the right now to retire’ - Double Olympic champions Kellie Harrington says the time is right to hang up the gloves#RTESport #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/HGVxDyRQF1
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 8, 2024
From TV panelist to Ireland’s most successful Olympic boxer in only 8 years. Harrington’s story is about more than just boxing though. Selection as flag bearer for the opening ceremony in Tokyo shows how popular she is with her peers. She’s among Ireland’s most loved athletes and is cited as an inspiration by elite athletes and school kids alike. A working class Dubliner who’s won 2 gold medals. She is one a kind.
Let’s hope she can enjoy her retirement, no one deserves it more.
