Kellie Harrington, Boxer

Kellie has been boxing since the age of 16, and her dream is to one day represent Ireland at the Olympics. She won the gold medal in the lightweight division at the 2018 Women's World Boxing Championships and silver in the 2016 World Championships in Kazakhstan. However she won her medal in the 64kg light welterweight category, which is not yet an Olympic boxing weight classification for women. Kellie’s nearest category would be the 60kg, a weight that has been dominated by Katie Taylor. Training is hugely important to Kellie, and she dedicates a lot of time to it, fitting in two sessions a day. Kellie loves to fight, and loves the feeling that she gets between the ropes. She is equally passionate about her day job as a Personal Trainer, which keeps her grounded. Women’s boxing burst into the national consciousness in 2012 when it finally became an Olympic sport and Katie Taylor took gold to become the first ever Olympic female lightweight champion. But the sport has had a long chequered history, with women sparring in prize fights in London throughout the 18thcentury. However, for the next two centuries their participation in the sport was regarded as disgusting and immoral – the Amateur Boxing Association of England only lifted its 116 year ban on women in 1996.

photo: Beta Bajgart