Olympics 24: Kellie goes for gold in Paris
ALL eyes will be on St Mary’s Tallaght boxer Kellie Harrington as she goes in search of an Olympic gold medal in Paris this evening.
Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s women’s lightweight 60kg Olympic final, Kellie has already made history by becoming the only Irish boxer ever to contest back-to-back Olympic finals, and the first Irish woman to win medals at two Olympic Games.
The much-anticipated women’s 60kg final between reigning Olympic champion Harrington and the number one seed in the division; Wenlu Yang of China is the last bout on the cards at the spectacular Roland Garros Stadium this evening at 10.06pm Irish time.
The pair have only ever met once before in the World Championship final back in 2016 when both were fighting at 64kg, with the Chinese fighter the victor on that occasion.
Yang is the number one seed in Paris based on her 2023 Asian Games win.
Kellie booked her place in the final when she overcame Beatriz Ferreira 4-1 in the semi-final at the North Paris Arena and guarantee herself at least a silver medal at these Games.
Speaking after Saturday’s semi-final contest Kellie said: ““It feels fantastic to get that fight out of the way because Bea is a fantastic opponent and, since Tokyo, she’s gone on to do great things in the professional ranks. I felt like I was the underdog in there today and I knew she had a point to prove,” Harrington said.
“All anyone’s been talking about is you’re going to meet Beatriz but that might never have happened. Now it has happened and thankfully it turned out the way it did. I’ve no idea if I fought better than in Tokyo but I enjoyed it more, “ she added.
“I just feel happy and I think the happiness is because I’m coming to the end of the road and I just know there’s life at the end of the tunnel.
Informed that she had just secured the 100th win of her brilliant career Harrington said: “I didn’t know that but it seems right doesn’t it, as this is the 100th anniversary of Ireland taking part in the Olympic Games!”.
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