ONE PERSON, LIFTING A NATION

Kellie Harrington secured her Bronze medal this morning in the smiling and emotional style that we all hoped for.

Every Olympian has the capacity to capture the heart of the nation but anyone who has ever had the pleasure to meet Harrington will be aware that she really is one in a million.

There was nervousness after a weekend where high hopes were battered against the reality of competition at this highest level but the Dublin lightweight put those fears to bed with a unanimous points win and Ireland’s 18th Olympic medal in boxing, just over half of our total down the years of 35.

Five of those to date have been silver and two gold, for Michael Carruth in 1992 and Katie Taylor in London 2012.

Kellie Harrington’s semi-final will take place on Thursday and a final, should she make it through that on the closing day of the Games on Sunday.

Speaking after the Quarter Final win Boxing Team Leader Bernard Dunne said “We faced this opponent before in the World Championships two years ago. Kellie came out on top in that and I know that’s a different contest, but we’ll review the opponent this evening and tomorrow and we’ll have a plan in place. We’ve only been looking at the Algerian opponent over the last couple of days because we’re taking it step-by-step – but we’re on to step number three now for Kellie.”

She said herself after her win that she was just one person but that she was helping give a lift to the nation and that is spot on.

ATHLETICS BOUNCES BACK

There was disappointment over the weekend for Irish athletes but the team bounced back this morning with Andrew Coscoran and Leon Reid making it through to the Semi-Finals of the 1,500 metres and the 200 metres.

Coscoran ran a tactical race and overcame three in the final 80 metres to finish 8th and secure a place in Thursday’s Semi-Final.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose,” he said after the race.

“The more races I put back-to-back, I get a little bit better. So, with a day off tomorrow, and then we go again, there’s no reason why I couldn’t make the final.”

LEON REID’S WELCOME RELIEF

If sport is about an escape from the realities of life, then Leon Reid will be as happy as any Olympian on the track after securing a place in the semi-final of the 200 metres.

When he returns from Tokyo to his home in the South West of England he will have the unusual homecoming of a further hearing in a firearms and drugs court case on 23rd July.

Reid was charged with the offences along with 17 others earlier in the year but he’s denied any involvement whatsoever.

That was a key part in the Olympic Federation of Ireland overturning their decision not to send him to Tokyo and now he has made it to the semi-final which h will take place later this afternoon Irish time.

THE GREATEST RACE IN HISTORY

When Thomas Barr exited the 400 metres hurdles at the semi-final stage he took comfort from the fact that he had given his all against a group that was lifting the event to new heights.

That came true to glorious effect this morning when Karsten Warholm of Norway became the first man ever to break 46 seconds in the event in taking a special Gold medal.

His time of 45.94 was almost 0.8 of a second inside his own World record set in June. The silver medallist Rai Benjamin ran the second-fastest time ever recorded and the Bronze by Dos Santos of Brazil was won in the fourth-fastest time in history.

In the events that define individual games, this will be the one on an international level for Tokyo 2020.

SHOW JUMPERS ENTER THE ARENA

At 11 AM this morning Ireland’s three strong Showjumping team will bid to qualify for the Olympic Final. They will be among 73 riders looking to secure one of the 30 places in the final.

Darragh Kenny, Bertram Allen and Olympic Bronze medallist from London Cian O’Connor will be flying the flag.

IRISH FLAG RAISING AT 11:27

Aidan Walsh may have had to withdraw from his Semi-Final but he had already secured a Bronze medal and he will be on the podium at 11:27 to see the tricolour raised for the medal ceremony of the Men’s Welterweight division.

 

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