In time, it will be said that 50,000 Irish were at Roland Garros to see Kellie Harrington make history as the first Irish woman to win medals at two Olympic Games and only the third to win back-to-back Olympic Gold medals.
It felt like it when the wave of pent-up emotion came rolling down from the stepped stands to engulf the boxer from Dublin’s North Inner City that captured our hearts with talk of fluffy pigeons in her head three years ago in Tokyo and now danced in the ring at the end of a cycle towards renewed glory that has been tougher again.
Her opponent, Wenlu Yang of China, was the number one seed and had won the only previous encounter between the pair. However, when Kellie won the first round on four of the five judges’ scorecards and then emerged at the end of the second up on three and all square on two, we as fans could release the nervous tension and enjoy the moment.
Not so Kellie and the team, who brought this through to the end and added one more judge for a 4-1 win that was dominant, glorious, deserved, and ultimately golden.
The atmosphere had built through a night of six semi-finals leading up to the first Olympic Boxing final of Paris 2024. They came from the USA, from Britain, from China, from Turkey, from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, from China and from Chinese Taipei, from Mexico with noise and colour and from Algeria in almost equal numbers to the Irish to cheer on their hero, Imane Khelif.
But in the end this was about Our Kellie. In Tokyo she won in Red, last night in Blue, and in the end with Gold placed around her neck. It was probably past 2 AM when most of the Irish fans will have made it back to wherever they were laying their heads last night, and probably a lot later for some, buoyed on the emotion of what they had seen.
She said in advance that this would be it in the ring, that boxing since an early age had meant a lot of punches to the head and that she was content to walk away regardless of the outcome in Paris, with her health intact and in a happy place. She confirmed it in her post fight interviews last night and so now she can go back to her wife Mandy, their new home a ring walk in distance from the Five Lamps, and the adoring community of friends and neighbours that have been there for her, and her for them.
In terms of history, Harrington’s Paris 2024 Gold is the 19th Irish Olympic medal won in the sport of boxing. It was our fourth gold of these games, having only ever won 11 in history before this and our seventh overall, fitting then than a great champion should confirm this as our greatest ever Games.
“It just gives hope. All these young kids all these teenagers, it give hope to them, it gives hope to the people of Ireland, that’s what it means, but this one was for me,” she said afterwards.
Harrington’s plan was to “just be happy—happy, smile, and enjoy it. It’s the last hurrah—I’m done. I’ve always said that I want to retire a champion—that’s it!”
The day’s tension was what great sport as a spectator is all about. The joy of being there is a memory that will last forever.
This was a very special night in the company of a very special person, and it is now forever enshrined in our sporting history.
Thanks, Kellie. Thanks to everyone who helped you into this particular life, this particular ring, and this very special place in Ireland’s sporting story.
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