Kellie Harrington announces retirement after incredible second Olympic gold

Ryan Price

The fighter from Portland Row is going out on the highest of highs.

Back-to-back Olympic lightweight champion Kellie Harrington has announced her retirement from boxing.

The 34-year-old won her second Olympic gold medal last night following a triumphant performance against China’s Wenlu Yang.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that's the bell!

Kellie Harrington has just made history and won her second Olympic GOLD medal🥇 🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪🥇🇮🇪#TeamIreland #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/9RTL3GbZp3
— RTÉ (@rte) August 6, 2024

The Dublin native is now the first Irish female athlete to win two Olympic medals at different games, joining Pat O’Callaghan, Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy as the only Irish athletes to retain an Olympic title.

Furthermore, with her new Paris gold to back up her Tokyo success three years ago, Harrington has joined an exclusive club with Nicola Adams and Clarissa Shields as the only women to retain their Olympic boxing titles.

The atmosphere was electric at Roland Garros last night as Harrington entered the ring soundtracked by The Cranberries’ Zombie.

Fifteen minutes later, her calm and composed manner transformed into sheer jubilation as the result was announced to a chorus of cheers from the travelling Irish support.

There were rumours that Harrington would hang up her gloves after her win in Tokyo three years ago, and she addressed her decision to keep going in her post-fight interview.

“It’s been three years of madness. It’s been hard, so I decided it was for me and I was doing it for me and me alone,” she said.

“I’m so happy and I’m so proud of myself to be here and to be doing what I’m doing.

“When you reach a mountain, you find another mountain and that’s what I’ve done. It wasn’t easy to climb that mountain.”

Now that she has achieved something very few others have, Harrington revealed that she wants to focus on “my life chapter”.

Kellie Harrington’s parents Christy and Yvonne celebrate in song on Portland Row after their daughter won a second Olympic gold medal.

Incredible scenes ☘️🥇👏 pic.twitter.com/s48D8eo7Nh
— FM104 (@FM104) August 6, 2024

“I am done now. The next chapter is going to be my life chapter. It’s for me and Mandy (her wife) now.

“I can’t wait to just live my life. To not be looking at the scales every morning. When it’s crazy, and all boxers will say the same, to train the way we want to train.

“It’s like, we can’t do that because we can’t get injured, or you can’t do that because you will be tired tomorrow and then you won’t have anything to be able to spar.”

She continued: “I want to be able to do whatever type of training I want to do.

“It’s the stuff of dreams. It’s just mad, it’s crazy. Nicola Adams, Clarissa Shields – and Kellie Harrington. To be up there with them is just amazing.”

The emotionally-loaded scenes continued in the hour after the decision had been announced, as the two-time Olympic gold medallist fought back tears during a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann as the tricolour flew high.

Kellie then sang the Frank and Seán O’Meara ballad Grace with Irish fans as she waved her new piece of jewellery dangling from her neck around in delight.

The girl from north inner-city Dublin will go down as not only one of Ireland’s greatest Olympians, but in their entire sporting history.