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KELLIE HARRINGTON HAS won her quarter-final fight against Colombian opponent Angie Valdés in the women’s lightweight division in Paris.
What had been billed as a tough bout against the World Championship semi-finalist proved to be a relatively straightforward affair for the defending Olympic champion.
The Dubliner will now progress to the semi-final stage, where she is guaranteed at least a bronze medal (both losing semi-finalists get bronze in the boxing).
Harrington, 34, had begun her title defence on Monday with a masterful display against former featherweight world champion Alessia Mesiano from Italy. Tonight saw her deliver more of the same against her Colombian opponent.
While Valdés had walked out smiling as she bounced her way towards the ring, Harrington looked the picture of poise and quiet confidence as she walked in.
Round one saw both fighters exchange point-scoring shots but Harrington landed the most impactful punches, which put her in the driving seat going into the second round.
In round two, the crowd was treated to more of the same with both fighters showing their high skill levels. Harrington looked more and more comfortable as the round went on, maintaining her distance and staying patient while Valdés struggled to close the gap.
The third round saw Harrington in full control as Valdés had to chase points. Harrington picked her off at will while keeping her distance masterfully, landing multiple clean shots throughout.
“I enjoyed it,” Harrington told RTÉ after the fight while praising her opponent.
Speaking about media coverage in the buildup to today’s bout, Harrington said there are no easy fights at the Olympic Games.
“Let me tell you something here and now right, every person in these games, in the Olympic Games, is a brilliant opponent. There is no easy fights here,” she said.
“There is no easy contests here, they’re all hard. Nobody gets to an Olympic Games without being at the absolute top of their game.”
On the fight itself, Harrington said: “I felt relaxed going in there. I listened to what the coaches were telling me and it was working.”
Hinting at a likey retirement from international competition after the Paris Games, she said that “these are the times I need to be enjoying because the boots will be getting hung up soon”.
'These are the times I need to be enjoying because the boots will be getting hung up soon' - Kellie Harrington speaks to @JoeStack_Ky after reaching the Olympic semi-final #RTESport #Paris2024 #boxing
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 31, 2024
📺 Watch https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
📱Updates https://t.co/01ShZjM17C pic.twitter.com/sea5T5dkdo
Harrington will be back in the ring for 60kg semi-finals on Saturday.
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‘There’s a perception out there that if you don’t have a job, don’t go to work and you end up a drug addict,it’s your own fault.’ Well if it’s not their own fault then whose is it?
ISIS?
‘Society’s’ or so the Hug a Thug brigade would have you believe.
Would you deny that in our society, those born into privilege have considerably more opportunities available to them than those born into poverty?
You’re right Graham, those born into privilege can better afford drugs.
Understanding how your circumstances can affect your life takes an abstract reasoning ability greater than you find in an average jar of mayonnaise, which is unfortunately out of the reach of most Journal readers.
Haha, here here JayK
We need to take a fresh look at how we view these issues, looking for someone to blame solves nothing, while trying to understand why people from all walks of life can become addicts may find answers.
if you’re proofin’ you’re losin’
When we read the family law court reports here of children taken into care after years of neglect and seriously dysfunctional and abusive home lives we don’t blame the children. When those children survive and grow up – often bounced around courts and care placements – and the dysfunction continues, albeit in a different environment – we try not to blame the children / young adults. Why then is it somehow okay to blame the same people when they’re adults and may be unemployed and with addiction problems? Not everyone starts out in life with the same chances , and opportunities, and ways of thinking and coping. We’re into second and third generations of addiction now and these families have never known any different. Blaming those that may be significantly less fortunate than any of us serves no good – I very much doubt that any addict actually wants to be in the lifestyle that they find themselves in, irrespective of how they ended up that way. Blaming isn’t going to change anything – compassion, empathy and some progressive action may do something to change things though.
That was in reply to luke Sarpish but posted in wrong place!
Lol, let’s do everything we can to keep dangerous drug addicts on the street.
no-one should be on the streets, but dealing with that knotty issue is beyond us it seems
Article a bit light on details, where is the drug being made available?
Ps naloxone was invented 40 years ago.
Why are we investing money in keeping a drug addict alive?The only helpful thing they can do is overdose.Please let them get on with it.
I think the world would be better off without ignorant savages like yourself, but we’re stuck with you too. Shame.
At least a lot of drug addicts actually try to get help with their condition. Some people on the comments section actually seem satisfied with being utter d*cks.
About 80% of people who comment on the Journal are lifeless a-h0les like Steve Denman, Alan Ball and David Dickenson. Image how ashamed their mothers must be!
Or dead.
Good to see they are looking after the taxpaying law abiding citizens.Typical of the liberal influences that rears its head every now and again in the HSE …managers my arse…murderers by default..let the junkies die they are no loss…
your inhumanity puts you at the very bottom of the pile.
Right, so this drug is about €20 for five shots. Yet the cost of an EpiPen is about €70 and you need a minimum of 2 (in case the first doesn’t work) and they have a short shelf life so need to be replaced regularly. Priorities??
It’s not the government that sets the price it’s the pharmaceutical companies, their priority is profit.
When it comes to life saving medication for conditions that are beyond the control of the patient, prices should be kept in check. I highly doubt that this the end users of Naloxone are the ones funding their medication.
Could be worse, have you seen the price of an Epi in the states these days? $600 a pack! Are they not covered on Medical Card/DPS over here anyways?
Why bother?
Because we’re human and don’t like to see people die because they made bad choices and struggle to help themselves?
I do….fk them
Alan you have lost someone close, think about her when you say things like this.
Dying would be the happiest thing for them as the chronic suffering they cause to friends, family and everyone else is burden onto themselves as much as it is to everyone else. I think we should forgive children for making maths mistakes, not adults who are stupid enough to overdose – that’s called evolution.
I can’t imagine anyone with a loved one in the grips of addiction wishing they were dead so as not be a bother anymore.
The comments on this article are disgusting. Addiction is an illness whether you that accept that or not. It’s no wonder there’s such a problem with mental health in in this country.
While I certainly sympathise with the families of serious drug addicts I am thankful that I have never had to experience the devastation caused in families because of an addicts destructive selfish behavior. I do really think though that there are this kind of thing should be a very low priority when it comes to HSE resources. IMHO I know it sounds quite harsh the death of an addict by overdose is a merciful release from a miserable existence of dependency, crime, and disease.
While I certainly sympathise with the families of serious drug addicts I am thankful that I have never had to experience the devastation caused in families because of an addicts destructive selfish behavior. I do really think though that this kind of thing should be a very low priority when it comes to HSE resources. IMHO I know it sounds quite harsh the death of an addict by overdose is a merciful release from a miserable existence of dependency, crime, and disease.
Not all addicts are criminals shooting up in alley ways. Not all addicts are destroying their families. A lot of addicts are functional, have jobs, have families, never stole a thing in their lives. You’d be very surprised by the sheer amount of functional addicts that exist in society. Most you’d never even notice unless you were an addict yourself.
This kind of thing should be a high priority because saving lives should be the priority of the HSE. Resources need to be spent saving lives, saving all lives with quality healthcare. Addicts are not draining the HSE of resources, the government are draining money from the HSE.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a criminal shooting up in an alleyway or a middle class woman with 3 kids shooting up in the office bathroom. You deserve healthcare and you deserve to be taken into consideration. Nobody should be left to die.
An awful lot of hate in the comments section. Even though they’re annoying/drain on society or whatever, they’re still human beings at the end of the day. Best of luck to them!
When you get mugged by one of those “human beings”, you will change your mind…
Orlaith well said
I was given morphine via a spinal epidural for a c section. Within minutes I was having a severe allergic reaction and was so glad to have naloxine.
One death a day from OD that is pure fecking BULLSHIT THE BROWN NOT THAT GOOD IN TOWN AS THEY ARE ALL ON TABLETS eveni g the dogs on the street know that
are you on the tablets..?
Most of the deaths are caused cause people are mixing opiates with other drugs or they misjudge their own tolerance. Nothing to do with quality.
It’s interesting the contrast between this country and the Philippines where the current president is encouraging his security forces to shoot dead drug addicts and dealers. The reality for that country is nothing else but this type of drastic measure will work, while we in Ireland, with the active participation of the government are trying to keep drug addicts alive.
He’s also encouraging the public to kill SUSPECTED addicts and dealers. He’s also rounding up people he disagrees with, journalists and other politicians, and killing them too. There’s no data proving that there’s been a fall in drug use in the Philippines.
However in Portugal, where they’ve decriminalized all drugs, drug use has fallen, HIV/AIDS diagnoses have drastically fallen, Portugal’s drug use rates remain below the European average and far lower than the United States which has an extremely strict policy on dealing with drug users.
Five lives well worth saving, too.
I can see other drug addicts using this to get a high myself now?
Naloxone does not have any effect on a person unless they are overdosing, as it is only designed to counteract and block the effects of opioids. If it is given to someone who has not taken opioids, it will have no effect as It cannot be used to get high, since there is no overdose to block. You cannot get high on naloxone.
But that won’t stop some eejits from using it to try it or mixing it with something else hoping to get a high, there are always people out there who will try anything. Thank you for letting me know that as I did not know, thanks.
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