To those who have known or worked in any way with Kellie Harrington down the years, she captured our hearts long ago. This past week she has extended that to the entire population of the country and beyond. Yesterday morning she received the reward that is too often withheld from those who deserve it most.
Kellie Harrington is an Olympic Champion. One of only nine in the history of the nation. She has done what she set out to do, to put a smile on the face of the country, and achieved the highest accolade in amateur sport, an Olympic Gold medal.
Yesterday was never going to be easy against an opponent that was heavily favoured by the bookies and who came out scrapping to win the first round. But Kellie’s faith in herself and in her dream carried her through. The coaches in her corner, and back at home in St Mary’s Boxing Club did enough to give her the tools she needed, and the belief to keep going that moved her from 3-2 down in the first to win the second by a wider margin and then to win the deciding third on every judge’s card.
It is a technical sport and often times what we see with our eyes as witnesses can be a different vision to that of those who are paid to give their marks. We have suffered that disconnect in the past, most notably in Rio with Michael Conlon and Katie Taylor but in Tokyo, it all came good.
Her journey began later than some. She was a child terror rather than a prodigy, left school early and could have gone down a far less glorious path. But as is the case in storybooks, boxing and the good people around her gave her the stepping stone to find herself.
She became a national champion but had to go up a weight to avoid Katie Taylor who was making her own history at lightweight, hence the Twitter handle of @Kelly64KG.
2016 was a turning point for both. As Taylor lost in Rio and turned to the Pro game, Harrington won Silver at the World Championships and emerged as a talent to the front of the pack looking to make up for the disappointment of Rio.
She turned Silver into Gold at the World Championships in 2018 but then broke her hand to prevent a defence of that title 12 months later, leaving the way for yesterday’s opponent Beatriz Ferreira to take the title.
She recovered but a place at the Olympic Games had still to be secured when she travelled to London to compete in the European Qualification tournament. Scheduled to fight for her place on the plane on St Patrick’s Day last year, Covid struck and the tournament was abandoned.
Confusion reigned over how the qualification would be assigned but as the virus spread around the world the Games themselves fell victim and Tokyo 2020 was to become Tokyo 2021 if at all.
Kellie met her life partner Mandy Loughlin through boxing and as the lockdowns shut down everything she was able at least to train and spar with her at home.
Perhaps that was the edge she needed when eventual qualification was secured and the Road to Rio was finally lit up.
Her victories in the Kokugikan Arena and her Hakuna Matata interviews after each bout made her everybody’s favourite and the country rose as one in the early hours of yesterday to watch a piece of sporting history that felt so right.
Commentator Hugh Cahill had the first sight of the scorecards and we knew before Kellie and those in her corner did in Tokyo that she had won. Portland Row, the street that links the Five Lamps with Gill’s Corner House Pub on the edge of Croke Park lit up as friends and family came together to celebrate and the world watched on. They made it onto the BBC’s final musical montage of the Games last night.
Dublin City Council, with whom Kellie does some work as an ambassador in the North Inner City have said they will do what they can to honour her achievement while mindful of public health regulations. It’s a fair guess that she might be something of a guest of honour at next Saturday’s Double Header between the women and then the men of Dublin and Mayo at Croke Park next Saturday.
President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin sent their messages, as did Michael Carruth and Katie Taylor, as did the hundreds of thousands who have fallen in love with this girl from the inner city, this school drop out, this champion of the outsider, this heart of a lion, this Olympic Gold Medalist.
Kellie Harrington, you are simply the best.
Is it time to take your place alongside the 250+ members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas in the commercial world of Irish Sport?
Download our latest membership brochure here.
Sport for Business Partners
