Sinead O'Carroll Reports from Paris

KELLIE HARRINGTON HAS a complicated relationship with boxing now. 

She love hates, hate loves it, she says. 

But when she entered the ring tonight for her 60kg quarter-final fight against Colombian Angie Paola Valdes Pana, she was “free of absolutely everything”. 

“The build up to a fight is crazy, everything goes through your head: ‘What the hell am I doing here?’,” she tells reporters in the North Paris Arena where she secured at least an Olympic bronze medal tonight. “Then as soon as the bell goes you forget about everything you just thought about in the last day, the last few days.” 

She is the first Irish woman to medal at two Olympic Games. But she isn’t processing that achievement yet – she won’t know what it means until the tournament is over and we can see the colour of the metal hanging around her neck. 

“I’m not really thinking about [the achievement]. Game face on and I’m just thinking about food at the moment because I’m starving,” she laughs. “I’d to run straight out to anti-doping and get that done.”

Controlled, calm and composed during the three rounds against the 24-year-old, it was a straightforward decision for the judges – although two of them gave the second round to her opponent. 

“I was very happy with my performance,” she reflected. “I’m very proud of myself. I’m just glad to be here and to be doing what I love, hate to do. Hate to love, love to hate.”

Although 10 years her junior, Valdes Pana has strong results under her belt, having won a silver medal at least year’s World Championships. She lost the title fight to Beatriz Ferreira, Harrington’s opponent in the Olympic final in Tokyo – and a rival she might be reacquainted with soon. 

But Valdes Pana was no match for the Dublin woman’s switch-hitting tonight, particular in the opening round. Harrington was more conservative in round two, perhaps leading to the two judges punting for the younger boxer. In the last, Harrington picked off her opponent who knew she had to move forward as much as possible. 

So hyper-focused on her boxing, the 34-year-old said she doesn’t even know if her wife Mandy was at the fight and, although she knew about Mona McSharry and Daniel Wiffen’s medals, she stayed in the “bubble” she has created for herself over the past five, six weeks.

Much like one the greatest stars of this games – Simone Biles – Harrington believes the most important thing about this time in Paris is to have fun. 

“It’s just sport,” she said. “This does not define me as a person. It’s fantastic, I’ve made history but I’m Kellie Harrington. I’m Kellie Harrington, the good person and that’s what I want to be known as.

Related Reads

Ireland's Nhat Nguyen versus the towering Olympic champion showcase the beauty of badminton in Paris

An afternoon in awe of BMX Freestyle, one of the Olympics’ newest - and most entertaining - sports

'It's hands on wall first': The most important 0.01 seconds of Mona McSharry's career

“Like you just have to enjoy it, that’s when I am free of absolutely everything. When I am able to express myself is when the bell goes and I’m in between those ropes,” she explains.

When the bell went for the last time, true to her mission, she shoulder-shimmied over to coach Zaur Antia, a man who was overjoyed in the arena in the aftermath. 

After a rough few days in the warehouse-like venue, he had secured another boxing medal for Team Ireland at the Olympics. And his boxer had fun while doing it.