An Olympic medal beckons once again for Kellie Harrington
Olympics 24: Brilliant Kellie is guaranteed an Olympic medal
AN OLYMPIC medal beckons once again for Kellie Harrington, following her quarterfinal victory against Angie Pana Valdes in Paris this evening.
Harrington (34) won by unanimous decision 5-0 against the Colombian, picking off her opponent with relative ease over the three rounds.
It means that Harrington, who fights out of St Mary’s Boxing Club in Tallaght, is guaranteed a bronze medal at least.
However, Harrington is a gold medal winner from the last Olympics in Tokyo, in the 60kg lightweight division, and will have bigger plans in a semi-final bout.
At the Arena Paris Nord venue on Wednesday, Harrington exhibited a great range of hooks against a difficult opponent.
In the RTE studio afterwards pundits Bernard Dunne and Kenneth Egan praised Harrington’s performance, noting how she seemed to be enjoying herself.
“That last round couldn’t have been easier,” said Dunne.
Speaking to RTE after the bout, Kellie said there is “no easy fights” in the Olympics.
“I felt relaxed going in, listened to what the coaches were telling me, and I enjoyed it. These are the times I need to be enjoying it because the boots will be hanging up soon.”
Looking ahead to the semi-finals, Harrington could meet Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil at Roland Garros, whom she beat to win gold in 2021.
That is if the Brazilian beats Netherland’s Chelsey Heijnen in the last bout of Wednesday’s evening session.
However, Dunne knows Kellie will have to be on top of her game once again to succeed.
“As good as she is, she listens to the people who advise her,” said Dunne.
Egan said Kellie is “very unique” and “doesn’t have a big ego but she is always willing to learn.”
Defending champion is the third seed in the lightweight division behind number one seed China’s Yang Wenlu, a bronze medallist in World championships in New Delhi last year.
Harrington became the first Irish woman to medal at more than one Olympic Games after her victory today.
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