Dublin boxer will become only the fourth competitor from Ireland to medal at two Games if she beats Colombian opponent Angie Paolo Valdes
In the 100 years since Ireland first participated in the summer Olympics, only Dr Pat O’Callaghan (gold in the hammer in 1928 and 1932), Paddy Barnes (bronze in boxing in 2008 and 2012) and Paul O’Donovan (double sculls silver and gold in 2016 and 2021) have medalled at two Games.
Harrington meets Angie Paolo Valdes, a 24-year-old Colombian whose only losses in the ring since being beaten on her debut on 2022 were against Brazilian Beatriz Ferreira, the current world amateur and IBF professional belt holder in the lightweight division.
Those defeats came in the Pan American Games final last October and the 70kg gold medal fight at the 2023 World Championships in the spring of last year.
However, Valdes struggled to overcome the challenge of Donjeta Sadiku (Kosova) in her last-16 contest on Monday night, winning on a split 3-2 decision.
In contrast, Harrington was back in top form against experienced Italian Alessia Mesiano, a 2016 world featherweight gold medallist in her last-16 bout.
The Dubliner was never troubled in the nine minutes as she swept to victory, winning all three rounds on all the five judges’ scorecards (30-27).
The winner of the Harrington v Valdes quarter-final is assured of a bronze medal, at worst, and a probable semi-final encounter against Ferreira, whose professional career is managed by Meath native Brian Peters, who has guided the pro career of Katie Taylor.
For Harrington, her last-16 win was a case of taking care of business in the ring. Once more, she was in no mood to entertain the media afterwards with pithy post-fight witticisms, as was the case in Tokyo three years ago.
“It’s always good to get a win, just happy to be here and get out and compete,” she said in a brief stop in the mixed zone.
After a shock defeat in the semi-final at the European Championships in Belgrade in the spring – her first loss since prior to the Tokyo Games – there were concerns about her form.
But she dispelled all those doubts with an assured and confident performance.
It ought not be overlooked that since she make the breakthrough at the World Championships in Astana in 2016, when she won a silver medal in the light welterweight category, she has picked up eight more championship medals, including gold at the Tokyo Olympics (2021), World Championships (2018), European Championships (2022) and European Games (2023).
She has a proven record of delivering at the big events and is a championship boxer who reserves her best performances for when it matters most.
Her opponent is a rangy fighter who is likely to come forward, which ought to suit Harrington, who does her best work off the back foot.
She says she’s learned from Belgrade.
“You have to fall to get back up. If you didn’t get back up, you may as well stay down. It’s only a loss if you don’t learn from it. Hopefully, I learned from it.”
Harrington will present a different challenge to the Colombian, who also of course lacks the Dubliner’s big-fight experience, than Ferreira did.
It will take something special from her to beat the reigning Olympic champion.
Olympic lightweight quarter-final: Kellie Harrington v Angie Paolo Valdes (Colombia), RTÉ2, 3.50
