Kellie Harrington hails ‘beautiful’ fans from their ‘warmth’ as Olympic champion still inundated with lovely messages
OLYMPIC double champion Kellie Harrington has once again hailed her fans for their support.
The Portland Row boxer bagged a second successive gold medal at an Olympic Games just weeks ago.
The Dublin fighter beat China’s Yang Wenlu 4-1 in the 60kg lightweight final at Paris’s Stade Roland Garros on August 6.
She was only the third female boxer in the world to win two golds after US fighter Larissa Shields and Great Britain’s Nicola Adams.
And she’s still been inundated with touching messages from around the world after her victory in the French capital.
Taking to Instagram the legendary Irish boxer posted a heartfelt message as she once again thanked her supporters.
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She said: “I just want to thank everyone again for all their support and well wish from people in Ireland & all over the world.
“I have so many messages in my inbox its impossible to get back to them all, but I see them the warmth from people is just so beautiful.
“You are all kind and generous with your love”
She was just the fourth athlete – and second boxer – to reach the two medal mark for Ireland, she joins hammer thrower Pat O’Callaghan, boxer Paddy Barnes and rower Paul O’Donovan.
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Speaking after her Olympic final win, Harrington confirmed that she would be retiring.
The Portland Row native said: “That’s the last hurrah. I’m done. I’ve always said I want to retire a champion. That’s it. Let me just say it once again, Bob’s your uncle, Fanny’s your aunt, goodnight Irene.”
She went on to add in a further interview with RTE after the medal ceremony that it would definitely be her last as she wanted to go out on top.
The double champ said: “I’m 98% sure it’s the last one. No, it’s the last I think – Imagine retiring double Olympic champion.
“There’s not many people who know when to stop.
“I wanna be finished as that [Olympic champion] and be remembered for the last win I had – double Olympic champion…. yeah.
“I’ve nothing left to prove, I’ve done it all.
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“This one was for myself, I’ve had to dig deep the last – I’ve had to dig deep.
“When you climb a mountain, find a bigger mountain…. the biggest.
“It’s hard to find a bigger mountain then the Olympics to retain the title. It’s extra hard.”