“I didn’t lose my focus or control of the fight”
Kellie Harrington has outlined her pride in becoming the third Irish boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, claiming that she takes pride in the fact she was able to put a smile on the nations’ face.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, the boxer from Portland Row got emotional watching the celebratory scenes by her family home but took great pride in her achievement.
She said: “Do you know what? I didn’t really think many people would get up and watch it. I thought people would re-watch it because it is quite early in the morning but it’s just… some people say the weight of a nation could bring you down or weigh you down, but it really lifted me up.
“When I was going into the final, I knew whether I took a gold or a silver, I had made my nation proud, I had me proud and I made my family proud. Just the way I had carried myself throughout this tournament, throughout the Olympics, I am very proud of that.”
Kellie Harrington Gold Medalist
Harrington was down in the first round of the fight but recovered well to defeat Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil with a unanimous decision. Thereby following in the footsteps of Michael Carruth and Katie Taylor.
However, despite being behind after the first round, Harrington says it wasn’t difficult to keep her focus for the final two rounds.
She said: “It wasn’t difficult at all, I’ve come back from losing the first round loads of times, I came back from the World Championship in 2018 after losing the first round. For me, the plan going in there was to stick to what I can do and not let someone else dictate the fight. That’s exactly what I done, I stayed calm and composed and controlled throughout the fight and it worked.”
You can catch the full interview below.
"Wow, wow"
An emotional @Kelly64kg reacts after she catches a glimpse of the joyous scenes in Portland Row during her in-depth #RTESport interview
Watch the full chat with the #Olympics boxing champion right here #Tokyo2020 #Kellie Harrington pic.twitter.com/TKy5PJbUG8
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 8, 2021
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