An impactful day awaits the Irish in Paris, the question remains, what colour will the medal be? And quantity too? Kellie Harrington, famously known as the Freewoman of Dublin City and arguably deserving of her statue in the National Wax Museum or even a painting in the National Art Gallery, is the last remaining Irish boxer. She’s due to fight the top Chinese seed, Wenlu Yang, in the final round of the 60kg category. The pair have a longstanding rivalry dating back to the 2016 world championships where Harrington lost to Yang.
Harrington has stood out in her journey to the Paris final, impressively scoring wins of 5-0 against Alessia Mesiano of Italy and Angie Vald of Columbia. She secured a 4-1 victory over Beatriz Ferreira from Brazil (a rematch of the Tokyo final) in the semi-final. Both seasoned boxers, Harrington, 34 and Yang, 33 know all too well what it takes to gain gold. Yet Harrington has been noticeably commanding in the ring, skillfully adapting her fighting style. She’s already created a milestone by becoming the first Irish woman to bag medals in consecutive Olympic Games. A consecutive gold might just heighten her historic legacy.
It’s a significant day for the showjumpers at the equestrian tournament in Versailles. They’re expected to deliver robust performances after giving promising performances, but narrowly missing out last Friday in the team event. Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz and Daniel Coyle on Legacy excelled, ending in second and third places and securing their spots among the final 30 riders in the final race.
Regrettably, the uplifting morning events on the tracks have been overshadowed by the sad news concerning European champion Ciara Mageean. Her withdrawal from the 1,500m heats due to an Achilles injury is a blow. The responsibilities now rest with Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan to carry the Irish hopes. Six contestants from each race will move on to the semi-final, with O’Sullivan competing in the first heat and Healy in the second.
This is definitely worth tuning in for.
In the realm of urban sports, men’s Speed Climbing has gained substantial traction, having been newly introduced to the Olympic lineup, separate from the Combined discipline. Its rapid and hectic nature captivates spectators, but regrettably, no participants from Ireland have qualified this year.
The sport will take place at the freshly built Le Bourget arena, an infrastructure set up for community use post-Olympics. Competitors will attempt to climb a 15m-high wall, with a map of 20 handholds and 11 footholds, all within the impressive time frame of under six seconds.
American teenager Sam Watson leads the rankings as the prime contender for the gold medal. Veddriq Leonardo from Indonesia, Matteo Zurloni from Italy, and Bassa Mawem from France also pose a formidable competition.
In terms of Irish participation on Day 11: Jake Passmore will be performing a 3m springboard dive at 9 am, closely followed by Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle partaking in the Individual final for Equestrian Showjumping. At 9:05 am, Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy will compete in the Athletics 1,500m qualifying heats. Finn Lynch will be sailing in the Dinghy medal race, slated for a 10 am start. Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker will partake in the Athletics 400m repechage from 10:20 am. The Cycling Track Team will pursue victory starting at 4:30 pm. Last but not least, Kellie Harrington faces China’s Wenlu Yang in the women’s 60kg final boxing match, scheduled for 10:06 pm.