Following the embraces, the songs, the family moments, and the mistaken sight of her father among the spectators, Kellie Harrington expressed a sense of closure. It was a combination of relief, happiness, contentment, and thankfulness on an almost surreal evening – the concluding segment of an extraordinary career that can only be understood by a global victor and consecutive Olympic lightweight gold winner.
Throughout the preceding week, Harrington had doubled and side-stepped around the prickly subject of retirement. She was all but confirming it without directly speaking it. However, when she did finally voice it, she retracted it in the next moment.
Then, after a 4-1 triumph over Wenlu Yang on Roland Garros’s main court and a flawlessly immaculate conclusion to her Olympic journey, it appeared as though fate had perfectly aligned itself.
At the age of 34, undefeated in Olympic boxing across two Games in Tokyo and Paris, the conclusion of Harrington’s international career seemed self-scripted on a balmy evening to the city’s west. Early in the morning, she returned drained, her vivacity and frenzy from the evening having dissipated.
Kellie Harrington stands solo, the first Irish lady to clinch gold medals at two Olympic tournaments.
“There are no further peaks to scale, I’m finished,” she stated. “The subsequent stage is going to be about my personal life. It’s the time for me and Mandy [her spouse] to embark on our journey. We are uncertain what it will be, but I’m eager to just experience my life, not that I haven’t been… it’s like, what are you saying?
“But the idea of not needing to constantly check the scales each morning, and it’s the same for all boxers: to be free to exercise as we wish, since everything has always been, ‘you can’t do that in case you get injured’.”
“If I had activities planned for the next day, I was often told ‘You can’t do that, you’ll need your energy for training.’ I merely wanted to follow my own training regimen without any restrictions; I’ve had enough of these figurative mountains.”
She intended to hang up her gloves after the Tokyo Olympics, but due to the pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021. Instead of the usual four-year term, her last dash in competitive boxing turned into a three-year bout.
Speaking candidly, she admitted her struggle was more than just maintaining weight. It was about maintaining a balance of life—embarking on impromptu adventures, allowing for little indulgences, and spending quality time with loved ones. Despite boxing being her closest ally and most challenging adversary, they had come to an understanding; a respectful space was agreed upon.
Harrington confessed that if the Olympic cycle had been four years, she might not have made history as the first Irish woman boxer to defend an Olympic title. “The plan was to retire post-Tokyo, but then, an additional three years felt like a brief extension. Its brevity hit me later. The qualifiers last year were a year in advance—it felt like an eternity.”
She believes a closer qualifying event might have been better. If it had been the usual four years, she may not have made it. But through the pandemic, she aimed to uplift spirits, make people smile. On reaching one peak, her motivation was to find a more significant challenge – it was not an easy climb.
Amidst three years of chaos and difficulty, a personal decision to persist has been taken, fuelled by self-appreciation and contentment. The satisfaction derived from achieving a personal goal and standing tall in one’s space surpasses all else. The journey has been arduous but rewarding, like a fighter bravely taking on diverse opponents with cool-headed precision.
Harrington outperformed her previous performance at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Arena on the Philippe-Chatrier centre court. Her mind and body were synchronised, making it clear that she isn’t planning on disappearing or abandoning her aspirations. The wisdom she acquired, the lessons she experienced, and most significantly, the impression her spirit leaves in people’s hearts will remain just like her accomplishments.
Only Nicola Adams from Britain and Claressa Shields from the USA can match her feat of back-to-back golds. The city of love, Paris, and Roland Garros, she held transfixed in the palm of her hand. Her unexpected triumph was nothing short of fantastic. The achievement will provide a lifetime’s worth of unforgettable memories, including a comical moment of mistaking someone for ‘me da’.
Witnessing it all were her two brothers and her friend Mandy. Their presence was special, knowing her as they do and understanding her life and journey. Now, the opportunity to truly live lies ahead of her.