BOXING
The defending 60kg champion’s unanimous 5:0 quarter-final victory over Colombia’s Angie Paola Col Valdes Pana in the North Paris Arena today guarantees Kellie Harrington an Olympic bronze medal at the very least.
It also secures the 38th medal in Irish Olympic sport in the country’s 100th anniversary at the Games, and brings Irish boxing’s extraordinary contribution to 19 of that total.
Only three other Irish athletes – two-time hammer champion Dr Pat O’Callaghan, boxer Paddy Barnes and rower Paul O’Donovan – have ever won medals at two separate Olympic Games, so the 34-year-old Dubliner has already joined a very exclusive club.
She is the first Irish woman to do it, and will now attempt to make the metal even more precious, when she returns to the ring for her semi-final on Saturday evening (August 3rd) against the winner of tonight’s bout between Beatriz Ferreira (who Harrington beat in the Tokyo Olympic final), and Chelsey Heijnen of Netherlands.
The brilliant Dubliner gave yet another masterclass against the Colombian who was the world silver medallist last year. Col Valdes Pana had no answer for Harrington’s technical brilliance as she switched stances with her trademark versatility and caught the South American with some heavy blows in the first round.
The defending lightweight champion won the first 5:0 on the scorecard and the only surprise was that the judges gave a split decision in the second (3:2 to Harrington), despite her unleashing a volley of right hooks that really connected but there was no doubt in their minds about the third, with all five judges giving it to the Irish star, giving the fight unanimously 5:0 in her favour.
Harrington said afterwards: “You don’t have time to think about what you’ve just done. You just think about what’s next. I’m very happy with my performances, I’m very proud of myself, I’m just glad to be here and doing what I love/hate to do, hate-to-love, love-to-hate.
“I’ve just been in my bubble. I know Mona and Daniel medalled, but I’ve literally been in my bubble for the last five weeks. I’m just doing what I do. I’m just taking each day as it comes. I’m just enjoying it. This Olympics is about me enjoying it. About me doing it for me and me being happy again. I’m happy with what I’m doing, and I’ve said it from day one: whatever happens happens. I came out here on the 29th and stepped into the ring and stepped back out of the ring and became a double Olympian. That is history, and I’m very, very proud of myself.
“Today, I became a double Olympic medallist, and that’s more history. I just know I have people up above looking down on me and they’re with me every step of the way. I won’t look back at the fight, I don’t need to. I trust my own coaches. We just try and stick to a plan. We give it what we have and if it works it works and if it doesn’t.
“It is just sport. This does not define me as a person. It’s fantastic, I’ve made history but I’m Kellie Harrington, I’m Kellie Harrington who’s a good person and that’s what I’m going to be known as.”
Earlier on Olympic debutant Jude Gallagher was beaten in his last 16 Featherweight (57kg) contest by previous Olympic medallist Carlo Paalam of the Philippines.
Gallagher never took a backward step and got in some solid rights in the first round which split the judges. They gave it 3:2 to his opponent and they also scored the second round 5-0 in his favour.
Gallagher needed a knockout in the last round and gave absolutely everything, landed some great jabs and right hands and two of the judges gave him round three, but the overall decision was 5:0 to the Filipino.
“It’s an uphill battle when you don’t get the first round but you just have to stay composed and stick to the game plan and I did that,” Gallagher said.
“I couldn’t get too eager or aggressive because he was countering me with that big, overhand right so I had to be cautious going forward. I thought the fight was closer than the scorecard made it out to be but I’ve no complaints.
“It’s a bit disappointing but this is where I want to be, sharing a ring with the best in the world. Carlo was a Tokyo silver medallist and that’s where you want to be, fighting the best of the best on the world’s biggest stage.
“This has been an incredible experience, everything I thought it would be and more. I had a bit of a wait to get involved, I was just itching to get out there and I came today to do my very best and feel I can leave with my head held high.”
Roscommon’s Aoife O’Rourke suffered a shock defeat in her last 16 opener against Poland’s Elzbieta Wojick, a fighter the Connacht woman had previously beaten four times.
Ireland’s multiple European champion won the first round 3:2 when the Pole got an official warning and a point deduction for holding, yet O’Rourke lost the second round 3-2 and everything was left riding on the third.
With her opponent repeatedly spoiling and crowding her, O’Rourke still got off some big shots and good combinations to the body in the third. But the judges gave it 4:1 to her opponent and Ireland’s two-time Olympian lost on a split 3:2 decision.
“I’m very disappointed. She set the pace and intensity from the start and it was a battle the whole way through,” O’Rourke said.
“I was expecting that. She only had one or two options. She was either going to come at me like the bull, or she was going to stand her ground in the middle of the ring, and she came out right from the get-go.
“I honestly think I gave it my best. There was a lot of holding but that’s part of it. Maybe I should have been quicker in getting out and what not, but it is what it is and I wish her the best of luck now.”
“We’ve met on numerous occasions and it’s always been a battle. I definitely didn’t underestimate her. She stepped it up again tonight and it came down to the wire.
SAILING
Team Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove closed out the fleet series in the Men’s Skiff with a 11th place finish in race 10, a 14th in race 11, and crucially a 2nd in race 12 to qualify for tomorrow’s medal race lying second overall just behind Spain, and marginally ahead of New Zealand.
Dickson and Waddilove produced a stunning final race of the series, making a gutsy call at the start line to sail to the opposite side of the course to the bulk of the fleet. It was a move that paid dividends for the Irish crew who then led the entire race until the finishing-line when the Croatians just pipped them by mere centimetres. Securing second or even third place in that final race keeps them in second overall for the fourth consecutive day.
With the fleet racing series now complete the Irish pairing stand on 73 net points, five points behind the Spaniards in first on 68 net points, and three ahead of New Zealand in third on 76 points heading into tomorrow’s top ten medal race.
USA are on 80 points in fourth and Poland in fifth on 83 but in reality, the double-points medal race on Thursday could go to any of the top eight boats (ninth and tenth can’t make podium).
The Medal Race, which is set for 1.43pm tomorrow is over a shorter version of the course they have been racing all week, with points scored in it doubled and added to the series points to decide the
medals.
As they came off the water Dickson said: “We seem to like to colour blue (the bibs)! We’re really happy with how the week has gone. If someone had asked us, would you take second place going to the medal race with a chance of gold, at the start the week we definitely would have taken it.
“Today was a really tough day, we had two really hard races, but we manage to bounce back – it was a really good last race.”
This is the second Olympics together for Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club), and Seán Waddilove (Sutton Sailing Club) who made their debut in Tokyo 2020 where they didn’t make it as far as the Medal Race.
ROWING
In an unprecedented achievement, Team Ireland has secured spots in four rowing finals at the Olympic Games, setting a new record. Among the highlights are the Men’s Pair (M2-), the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x), and the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x), all of which will compete in their respective finals on August 2nd.
Nathan Timoney (23) and Ross Corrigan (25) made history by becoming the first Irish Men’s Pair to reach an Olympic final. The Fermanagh duo finished third in their semi-final, following a strong start and maintaining their position against formidable competitors. The reigning World Champions, Great Britain, and the European silver medallists, Romania, edged out Timoney and Corrigan by just over half a second. This achievement surpasses the previous best finish by Pat Gannon and Willie Ryan, who placed seventh at the 1980 Moscow Games.
Reflecting on their race, Timoney expressed the intensity and strategy involved: “That was epic, epic racing! Definitely a replication from last year’s World Champs final. I think it was necessary. We definitely had to go out a little harder than we did in the heats . A lesson learnt. We knew we’d definitely suffered for it a little bit for it in the second half and obviously in the last 250m the Kiwis were coming back at us quite swiftly, kudos to them but to be in front, you’re in control of the race and if we could see them coming we could kind of react. I think we did that pretty well. We were just holding on for dear life in the last 150.
“In the middle of it it’s hard to know sometimes where you are. The way I race is I try to be as internal as possible. Sometimes Ross would make the call and let me know where we are but I like to be internal and certainly, in the last 250 you realise you’re in for a dog-fight and that’s where the body wakes up and you’re like ‘right, let’s make a move”
Corrigan, whose cousin – golfer Leona Maguire is also on the Irish team, added: “We had a plan up until 1500m and then we were leaving it in God’s hands. We knew we’d move when we needed to move and I called it a bit earlier today, in the last 300 the Kiwis were coming back at us but we knew in the heat that we had enough to come back at them so we knew we could keep pushing on and then the last 100 you’re just holding on and trying not to slow the boat down more than anything. Just make no mistakes!”
Olympic and World Champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy showcased their dominance by winning their semi-final in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. The Cork double, trailing initially, surged ahead at the halfway mark, leaving their competitors behind. They secured a clear victory over the Swiss team, who had previously beaten them at World Cup II.
O’Donovan noted their strong performance and the anticipation for the final: “We felt good with the performance. The legs are feeling strong, I was feeling that way on camp on our training camp, we were moving the boat well and we had a lot of fatigue in the legs then, but freshening up a little bit now and starting to improve the technique a little bit since we’ve been here so we’re very much looking forward to Friday.”
McCarthy added: “It was just to feel good racing again and I don’t think we’ve been that sort of in with the pack as early on (in the season) as recent times so it was nice to kind of be back, and be back commanding races, and we’ll see how we get on, on Friday.”
The duo will face Italy, Greece, and Norway, among others, in what promises to be a fiercely contested race.
Looking ahead to that race O’Donovan gave his view; “I think it’ll be a tough race; Italy are fast starters, Greece are fast starters, the Swiss are fast off the start and they hold it a long ways out. The Czechs can go off very quick, you know, Norway quick off the start, quick sprint finish as well if they get going so I think it’ll really be kind of hang in there in the first 1000m for us, and once you’re in the pack then I think the race will kind of start again there, and people will start to make a move again, and hopefully we’ll be able to respond and take it up ourselves.”
Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey have progressed to their first Olympic final in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls, marking a significant improvement from their eighth-place finish in Tokyo. The Cork duo delivered a stellar performance, securing third place in a tight race against Greece and Romania.
Casey described the race as a grueling yet exhilarating experience: “You’re in the pain cave out there, in the pain cave definitely but you don’t even have time to think about it, it comes so fast! I think it was pretty flat to be honest (conditions).Our focus is just to try and get out of the start strong, get into a race pace and then you’re just kind of thinking of one split faster, one second faster. You’re just trying to kind of do as much as you can in the race to put yourself in the right position for the sprint, and I think we did that.
You know, we were alongside the French, we’re always alongside the French in the big races, but we were kind of like just tracking everyone, feeling good and making sure that our approach was counted so I think when we got to the nitty gritty in that last quarter we just wanted to empty the tank. I think we did so really delighted that we were on the right side of the margin this time because last year we were on the wrong side of it you know. So I think it’s just the learnings, we’re through all the up and downs, and we’re really excited to have I suppose achieved our goal of the final, so super excited for Friday to see what we can leave on the water.”
The women’s Pair (W2-) of Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh were much disappointed when they missed out on the final with a sixth-place finish and a lacklustre performance in their semi-final.
Some time after the race Keogh gave this reaction: “We’ve put in three years of hard work in the lead up to this week’s racing. The Olympic Games is like no other event in the world. We felt like we prepared to the best of our ability but unfortunately that didn’t show today. We still have one more opportunity on Friday to show what we can do and enjoy our last race together. It’s an honour and a privilege to be a part of this team and we’re so proud of our teammates who are racing for medals over the next few days. We also want to thank everyone who has been on this journey with us and those who have been supporting us both near and far.”
Also speaking was Giuseppe de Vita; women’s coach: “The girls have put their heart and soul into this games and today was just one of those days that things didn’t go to plan. They prepared well and felt well going into the race but got behind early and just couldn’t get back into it.
“Unfortunately there’s no room for error; that’s sport at the highest level and it’s a shame for the girls but they’re a credit to the programme and their families and I’m extremely proud of them.”
SWIMMING
Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry has bowed out at the semi-final stage of the 200m Breaststroke in Paris.McSharry, who won 100m Breaststroke bronze on Monday, swam her fourth fastest time ever to finish sixth in her heat and eleventh overall in 2:24.48.
Speaking after the race McSharry said: “Right now I’m just upset, all I know is the time and it wasn’t fast enough so it’s hard to do more than that right now, but definitely upset. It was definitely a little harder than this morning, but in the race you hope that’s because you’re going faster and it’s hurting more because the times going to be faster but sadly that’s not always I guess the way it goes. I probably just exerted a bit too much energy in the front half and paid for it in the back half.”
McSharry returns to the pool on Saturday for the Women’s 400m Medley Relay, it will be the first time Ireland will have an entry in the event since 1972: “The relay is just a fun event to go out with the girls and do something special and you know that relay hasn’t raced in a long long time and it’s the first time it officially qualified, so I think that’s just going to be a great way to finish off the meet and that’s how I viewed it before even coming in this and it will be nice just to have one last race with them.”
CANOE SLALOM
In his debut Olympic Games 26-year-old Noel Hendrick successfully advanced to the Men’s K1 semi-final, clinching the 19th of 20 available places. Moving quickly through the first half of the course in run one, Hendrick picked up a number of penalties for touching gates as he raced towards the line, adding an additional 10 seconds to his run time. Even with these penalties, the Kildare man was still within the top 20 boats.
On his second run down the course, Hendrick improved massively staying clean through the middle section, only gaining one penalty for clipping the fifth gate to book his Olympic semi-final place on Thursday, where a top 12 finish will be needed to make the final.
Hendrick, who 2008 Beijing Olympian Eoin Rheinisch coaches, gave this take on his day: “It was a really tough day. I think I’ve been struggling the last few weeks with being very safe and not taking risks in my runs. All I wanted to do today was go out and try to attack and race my fastest. I think in my first run, I really achieved that, but I took too many penalties, and it was a really difficult build-up to the second run.
“I guessed that I had to improve, I didn’t know for sure, but when I was in the start pool of the second run all I could hear was the commentators saying that I needed to improve my time and that was really tough mentally, but I performed well. I had a spin out and a touch in the middle of the run and I just knew from that point onwards I had to perform, I had to put down the fastest run that I possibly could so it was freeing in a way, but also I just attacked all the way to the bottom and I’m really pleased.”
Earlier, Michaela Corcoran, daughter of double Olympian Mike Corcoran and twin sister of Madison, who raced at these Games on Saturday, placed 21st overall in the women’s C1 and did not advance to the semi-finals. In her first run, Corcoran clipped five gates, resulting in a ten-second penalty similar to Noel Hendricks’s first run.
In her second opportunity to push her ranking up, Corcoran started well, going out hard while keeping a good line and staying clean, only knocking the eleventh gate. However, all became undone on the penultimate gate; Corcoran narrowly missed the downstream gate, landing her with a 50-second penalty, which saw her finish in 21st place, ruling her out of contention for today’s semi-final.
BADMINTON
After losing her debut to a Swiss player in a three-game thriller, badminton player Rachael Darragh had somewhat of a mountain to climb; her second and final group game today was against Spanish veteran Carolina Marin, the Rio Olympic champion who is a three-time world champion and the fourth seed in Paris.
The Donegal player concluded her Games with a straight sets defeat to Carolina Marin at La Chapelle Arena (21-5, 21-5). Marin – the fourth seed at Paris 2024 – advances through to the Round of 16 while Darragh bows out of the competition.
Commenting on today’s match, the 26-year-old said: “I knew before I stepped on the court today she would be a tough opponent, I just wanted to give my best performance and I feel like I really struggled with the conditions of the hall today. I felt like it was different from Court 3 to Court 1 but she was really fast and sharp and it was a whole level up today and I struggled a lot against her.
“No one is going to have an easy group in the Olympic Games, it’s the top level of sport but I knew I had a tough task. I’m proud of the performance yesterday in particular but I feel I could have given a little bit more today. Carolina played amazingly and it’s an honour to share the court with an Olympic champion at the Olympic Games.”
Earlier Team Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen produced another strong performance in his third and final Group match in the Men’s Badminton Singles group stages, against defending Olympic champion Victor Axelsen but ultimately lost out on a 21-13, 21-10 score-line.
Nguyen gave his thoughts: “I think coming into the match, I was definitely underdog, but we had a game plan to come out firing on all cylinders because the last few times I’ve played him, it was difficult for me to get into the game. I wanted to get a good start which I did and I might have surprised him.
“I wish I could have made the most of those opportunities, but I really gave it my all and tried everything that I’ve been practising for the last two or three months leading up to this game. Overall, his level of play was too good for me, and as I said before, there’s still quite a big gap between me and the best players in the world. I’ll keep working on it daily to try to get to their level.
“The support and the crowd were quite amazing, and I will definitely remember them for the rest of my life. Seeing the Irish flag, my parents, and all my family will be something I’ll remember for a long time. Now it’s time to rest and reset, and we’ll be back again stronger.”
With thanks to the Team Ireland Media group providing a great service from Paris
Sport for Business will host its inaugural Children and Sport Conference in Dublin on Thursday, September 19th, with the support of Allianz Ireland and Sport Ireland. This is one of many events planned for the remainder of 2024.
Register your interest to attend a Sport for Business event here.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland and PTSB are among the 300 organisations, which include all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies, that are members of the Sport for Business community.
Find out more about joining us today.
Check out our upcoming events to discover ways of connecting in person with our membership.
