Kellie Harrington Retirement Confirmed After Olympics 2024
Ireland champion, Kellie Harrington, confirmed her retirement after the Olympics 2024. The double Olympic champion has decided to say goodbye to her boxing career after the current Olympics.
Kellie Harrington, 34 years old, successfully maintained her lightweight title by defeating China’s Wenlu Yang in the finals of Paris 2024, on Tuesday night. She mentioned that she would hang up her gloves after the win, which was confirmed in the news later.
(Also read: Dublin Celebrates Kellie Harrington’s Olympic Gold Medal Win)
According to her, “I know now, that’s it, done and dusted and what a way to go out”. She confessed that she truly knows that it is the perfect time to take off from her career once and for all because most of the time people don’t know when to call it off. She was sure that it was the time of her career when it seemed the right decision to finish it off with a shining performance.
She added, “I am making that decision to finish it this way, my way, and go out as a double Olympic Champion”. She thinks she should be remembered for the rest of her life in the same way for the entire world.
She also believes that her retirement is the right decision as she has nothing more left to prove to the people, as if this was her only goal and the “most important thing, even to myself”.
Kellie Harrington’s achievements
Before her retirement, Kellie Harrington bagged two Olympic gold medals, World Championship in 2018, the European Championship in 2022 and the European Games in 2023.
Her first Olympic gold medal came with a delay in the Tokyo Games in 2021 which was conducted with severe pandemic restrictions. Harrington knew that the spectators present at the venue had an importance and that she had to show herself to the world. Having supporters at such a critical time mattered to her the most.
On Tuesday night, she faced the aftermath of a bout at Roland, for which she cited she had to undergo an anti-doping test.
The Dublin player was not surprised about the test as she knew every player had to undergo it as a necessity. “It is absolutely vital that everyone gets tested”.
She stayed there for the test till 2 o’clock. Afterwards, she went to meet her friends at McDonald’s which was only a ‘meet and greet’ session with the close ones.
Her aftermath experiences also included not getting enough sleep, she verified. She said that there were only loads of French people at the restaurant, after which she was not able to sleep till 5 am.
It felt like being a zombie at the Olympics, she testified herself. She had to attend the race soon after staying late till early morning, which was exhausting.
She hadn’t slept properly but she was happy to see Mandy. She disclosed that Mandy got her one-day pass and got an entry into the Olympic Village just to watch Kellie Harrington win.
Harrington is now on cloud nine as her phone is constantly ringing with best wishes from her family and friends who have supported her throughout the journey. It seemed “a bit overwhelming” for her and an emotional moment as well. She said she would always remember these special moments and always cherish them.
Moving towards retirement, she did not forget her fans and crowd. She exclaimed, “I’ve never boxed in front of a crowd that big and I always thought that if I did I’d be really nervous”.
But she believed it was their support and cheers that boosted her confidence every time she gave her opponent a blow. She wanted to tell them that she would always be grateful to them.
Kellie Harrington continued to explain that getting an Olympic medal was a mountain itself when she initially embarked on this journey, whereas finally setting foot on the podium to receive the medal is another milestone. Her country’s flag waving all around was surely a reminiscing moment for her, bringing tears to her eyes.
