She has nothing left to prove; there are no more mountains left to climb. Two time Olympic Champion, Kellie Harrington, has confirmed her retirement from international boxing.
Kellie, on the night she made history at Stade Roland Garros, said she was “98%” certain that her battle with China’s Yang Wenlu for Olympic gold was her last international bout. She’s confirmed today that this decision is at 100% . Speaking to Morning Ireland this morning, Kellie said “I know now, that’s it, done, dusted and what a way to go out,” The double Olympic champ added “The fact that I know that I am now done, and the fact that I am finishing this way [is great], ‘cos a lot of the time people don’t know when to finish, and I’m happy that I am making that decision to finish it this way, my way, and go out as a double Olympic champion….That’s it, that was it, done, dusted, I’ve nothing more to prove, not even to myself, which is the most important thing.”
Kellie began her boxing career as a 15 year old, training at Corinthians BC. She’s also been a member of West Finglas BC, and has trained at St. Mary’s BC, Tallaght, under Noel Burke, since 2018. Her first senior title was the 2006 Irish Open Championships Intermediates.
Kellie’s international career has been stellar, She won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2017 Women’s European Union Boxing Championships and a bronze at the 2018 Women’s European Boxing Championships. She won the gold medal in the lightweight division at the 2018 Women’s World Boxing Championships. She was the silver medallist in the light welterweight division at the 2016 Women’s World Boxing Championships – where she contested against her Paris 2024 finals opponent, Yang Wenlu for the first time. She’s claimed European Championships gold (Budva, 2022) and bronze (2017; 2024).
She and Michaela Walsh jointly hold the title for the most ever Elite National championship golds – at 11, apiece. Kellie says, however, she’s not quite done with domestic boxing, and speaking to Morning Ireland said “I’m relieved to be done with the scales but I’ll always train because I believe that training helps me with my mental health, helps me to release those good endorphins and to feel good about myself….I’ll be hanging around the Sport [Ireland] institute, they are not going to get rid of me that easy…I feel like I have a lot of stuff that I can pass on to other athletes, so I want to do that.”
Kellie’s status as an icon, not only of boxing, but of Irish sport, has been recognised over the years. in 2022, she was granted the Freedom of Dublin City – in the same year, she was joint Grand Marshall, with Ellen Keane, of the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade and was commemorated by An Post in a limited edition stamp collection of Irish sportswomen.
Outside of boxing, Kellie has been vocal about how much her part-time job at St Vincent’s Hospital where she works as a cleaner has helped her to stay grounded…she has worked there for over 11 years.
