There’s under 24 hours to go until the first bell at Paris 2024, and the advent of Irish Boxing’s Olympic centenary.
We’ve celebrated every Irish Olympic Boxing team since Paris 1924 – and today, we honour the team of Tokyo 2020.
This extraordinary team includes 4 members preparing to make their Paris debut: defending lightweight champion, Kellie Harrington, Tokyo bronze medalist, Aidan Walsh, and Tokyo Olympians Aoife O’Rourke and Michaela Walsh.
The team also included Brendan Irvine, who became a double Olympian, and now pro-boxers, Kurt Walker and Emmet Brennan.
Team Ireland Boxing’s High Performance Director, Tricia Heberle, was Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020.
Aidan suffered an agonising ankle injury on celebrating his quarter final win over Mervin Clair (Mauritius), and had to give a semi-final walkover.
Kellie came from behind to beat Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira on a unanimous decision in the lightweight final at the Kokugikan Arena. Ferreira, walking down the Irish champion, took the first round 3-2, courtesy of hooks and uppercuts with Harrington beginning the find her range near the end of the round. But the second round was all about Harrington, with the 2018 World Elite champion holding her composure and getting her timing and range spot on to take the frame on all five cards.
Ferreira, the 2019 World gold medalist. continued chasing Harrington in the third but the new Olympic champion kept picking off her shots en route to a famous win after a masterclass in the second and third rounds.
Harrington joined Michael Carruth and Katie Taylor as one of three Irish boxers to win Olympic gold.
Team Ireland: Tokyo 2020
July 24th
Last 32
57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Jose Quiles (Spain) 5-0
July 25th
Last 32
81kg Emmet Brennan (Ireland) lost to Dilshod Ruzmetov (Uzbekistan) 0-5
July 26th
Last 32
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) lost to Carlo Paalam (Philippines) 1-4
Last 16
57kg Michaela Walsh (Ireland) lost to Irma Testa (Italy) 0-5
July 27th
Last 16
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) beat Albert Menque (Cameroon) 5-0
July 28th
Last 16
75kg Aoife O’Rourke (Ireland) lost to Qian Li (China) 0-5
57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Mirazizbek Mitzakhalilov (Uzbekistan) 4-1
July 30th
Last 16
60hk Kellie Harrington (Ireland) beat Rebecca Nicoli (Italy) 5-0
Quarter-final
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) beat Mervin Clair (Mauritius) 4-1
August 1st
Quarter-final
57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) lost to Duke Ragan (USA) 2-3
Semi-final
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) lost to Pat McCormack (Great Britain) (W/O)
(Walsh sustains an ankle injury)
August 3rd
Quarter-final
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) beat Imane Khelif (Algeria) 5-0
August 5th
Semi-final
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) beat Sudaporn Sessondee (Thailand) 3-2
August 8th
Final
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) beat Beatriz Ferreira (Brazil) 5-0
Check out the highlights of Tokyo 2020
Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the event was postponed to 2021 on 24 March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the first such instance in the history of the Olympic Games (several previous games had been cancelled but not rescheduled) However, the event retained the Tokyo 2020 branding for marketing purposes. It was largely held behind closed doors with no public spectators permitted due to the declaration of a state of emergency in the Greater Tokyo Area in response to the pandemic, the first and only Olympic Games to be held without official spectators. The Games were the most expensive ever, with total spending of over $20 billion.
The United States topped the medal table by both total golds (39) and total medals (113), with China finishing second by both respects (38 and 89). Host nation Japan finished third, setting a record for the most gold medals and total medals ever won by their delegation at an Olympic Games with 27 and 58. Great Britain finished fourth, with a total of 22 gold and 64 medals. The Russian delegation competing as the ROC finished fifth with 20 gold medals and third in the overall medal count, with 71 medals. Bermuda, the Philippines and Qatar won their first-ever Olympic gold medals. Burkina Faso, San Marino and Turkmenistan also won their first-ever Olympic medals.
Youthful, Urban, and Gender-Equal
The Tokyo 2020 Games showcased the evolution of the Olympic programme, introducing new sports and events that strengthened the timeless appeal of the Olympic Games for a new generation. Tokyo 2020’s 339 events in 33 sports—the most in Olympic history—included the Olympic debut of sports such as skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and karate, as well as events such as BMX freestyle and 3×3 basketball.