Ireland's Kellie Harrington began the defence of her Olympic gold medal with an emphatic win over Italy's Alessia Mesiano in Paris on Monday afternoon.
Harrington, who won gold in Tokyo in 2020, beat her opponent 5-0 in the Paris North Arena in the 60 kg women's category.
When asked how she felt during and after the fight, she responded, “I felt alright in there; I felt alright. I was trying to implement the tactics that were being given to me by the corner there.
“We had a good plan going in, and the plan worked, so, yeah, it felt good. It felt good to get going.”
Harrington, like many Irish athletes, has a huge Irish backing behind her, and it could be presumed that the Olympian would get distracted, but that wasn't the case today as she won in style.
“I didn’t look up into the crowd until afterwards,” she said. “They’re distractions I don’t need when I walk into the ring, but it's great to have people out there cheering me and great to see the Irish flag floating around the stadium there. It’s absolutely classy.”
|Boxing
Job done!
Ireland’s defending 2020 champion Kellie Harrington eases into the 60kg Olympic quarter-finals for a second time
Beat 🇮🇹 Alessia Mesiano with a unanimous 5-0 decision #TeamIreland #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/MLlsMGgzHt— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 29, 2024
Harrington's family and wife were not present at the last games that saw her make history because of logistics and other aspects. This wasn't the case today. Harrington was glad this was the case.
“It’s great to see the Irish flag being flown around the stadium there; it’s class, absolutely top class,” she said.
“I know Mandy and my brother Joel are out there somewhere, so it’s great to know that they got to come over and experience the Olympics as well as me.
“I think I heard Mandy say, "Come on, Kellie"; I’m nearly sure it was her.
“It's always good to get a win; I'm just happy to be here and get out and compete,” she added.
The Dubliner is now one fight away from a guaranteed medal. She will face either Colombia’s World Championship silver medalist Angie Valdez or Kosovo’s Donjeta Sadiku in the last eight.
