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Olympics

Kellie Harrington is relaxed ahead of Olympics semi-final | Chris Harrington

Olympic medallist Kellie Harrington has been working for years to get to where she is now and is ...



Olympics

Kellie Harrington is relaxed ahead of Olympics semi-final | Chris Harrington

Olympic medallist Kellie Harrington has been working for years to get to where she is now and is enjoying the moment, according to her brother Chris.

Kellie Harrington is guaranteed a bronze medal after she beat Algeria’s Imane Khelif by unanimous decision in her quarter-final on Tuesday.

Harrington will now look to better her medal when she faces Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee in her Olympic semi-final on Thursday.

Speaking on Off The Ball’s Olympic Show, Harrington’s brother Chris Harrington, who is himself a boxing coach in Iceland, discussed the work that his sister had put in over the years to get to where she is now.

“It is immense what she has done over the years, the stuff that people haven’t seen,” Harrington said.

“One of the last times that I was at home a few years ago, I remember going down to Limerick where she was going down there to fight grown men, paying out of her own pocket.

“Going to other countries for camps, just so that she can better herself. It is the stuff that goes on that people don’t see, the sacrifices and the other stuff that she’s put in.

“To try and sum her up is unfair because you never really can. She hasn’t just arrived where she is now, it is a build-up of all the stuff she’s done over the years.”

Harrington Tokyo

Harrington believes that his sister has benefitted greatly from seeing the hard work and compassion that their parents showed throughout their childhoods.

He suggested that Kellie’s personality is a mix of her parent’s, which has pushed her to the heights that she is experiencing in Tokyo.

“I think my ma and da have a huge role to play in Kellie’s success in terms of where she is now and how she’s got there,” Harrington said.

“The traits that Kellie has, her personality, she is a pleaser, and she wants to help people, and she wants to see people do well.

“On the other side of that she is a ferocious worker; nobody will out-work her. They are the traits that we had seen as kids growing up.

“We were growing up seeing my da waking up at half four, quarter to five in the morning, getting us porridge, cycling 15-20kms to work, coming home at six or seven at night, having his dinner, rinse and repeat.

“That is what we were seeing growing up so the hard work traits come from my da definitely.

“In terms of my ma, she is a massive pleaser, she wants to please everybody, so I think Kellie has a lovely mix of both of them combined.”

Now that she only has two fights between herself and the gold medal, Harrington’s brother suggested that she is simply enjoying the moment and will have time to reflect on the Olympics and her success later.

“The only thing that Kellie is worrying about is what she is going to eat next!” Harrington said.

“She is very relaxed, she is having the time of her life, she is on the biggest stage, and it is a time for her to enjoy.

“When everything is finished she’ll have time to reflect but for now she is very relaxed and she is just enjoying it.”

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Boxing Chris Harrington Kellie Harrington Olympics Tokyo 2020