Boxer Kellie Harrington, who claimed her second Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August, has been crowned The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2024.
The Dubliner’s victory over China’s Wenlu Yang in the 60kg final on a never-to-be-forgotten night at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris made Harrington the first Irish boxer to win two gold Olympic medals.
Harrington, who celebrated her 35th birthday just over a week ago, also joins a select group of only four athletes who have successfully defended an Olympic title – the others being double sculls rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy and hammer thrower Dr. Pat O’Callaghan.
Kellie Harrington, Ireland's Sportswoman of the Year 2024. (Kieran Harnett)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Awards, and it is the second time Harrington has claimed the overall Sportswoman of the Year title. The first one came back in 2018 after she claimed the lightweight title at the World Boxing Championships in New Delhi.
While that was a hugely important breakthrough – at that point, she had been boxing for over a decade but was largely unknown outside boxing circles – in the long term, it would prove to be the launching pad for even greater success, culminating in the winning of Olympic gold in Tokyo in August 2021.
Kellie Harrington with her Olympic Gold medal in Tokyo. (Getty Images)
Now, three years later, she has won gold again.
After she was announced the winner at Roland Garros, an emotional Harrington described what the win meant to her: “To get to the Olympics is a mountain in itself, and then when you get there to set foot on to a podium is a massive, massive mountain. ...To see your nation’s flag at the top of the podium, that’s just special, because there’s not many people in the world who get to do it and I know I’m doing it twice now.”
Earlier this year, Harrington won the Sportswoman of the Month Award for July after defeating Colombia’s Angie Valdes Pana in her quarter-final. That victory, on the last day of July, meant she became the first Irish woman to win medals in two Olympic Games. She then defeated professional world champion Beatrice Ferreira of Brazil in a closely contested semi-final, Harrington producing a masterclass of movement and punching in the final round to secure her place in the gold medal match.
August 6, 2024: Kellie Harrington with her Olympic Gold medal in Paris. (Getty Images)
In 2016, at her first world championships in Kazakhstan, an inexperienced Harrington fought extremely well to get to the final, where she was defeated by China’s Asian champion Wenlu Yang. But it was a coming-of-age moment for Harrington, the silver medal she won and the subsequent funding from Sport Ireland enabling her to move to the next level. Now eight years later in Pari,s she faced Yang again for the first time since that fight.
But this was a very different Harrington, a World and Olympic champion. She attacked from the off and built an unassailable lead over the first two rounds to seal her Olympic legacy.
The proud Dubliner had indicated beforehand that this would be her last fight, and her controlled display ensured she brought the curtain down on her career, on her terms, if that is to be the case.
“A lot of the time people don’t know when to finish, so 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 she most definitely did, serenading ecstatic Irish fans after the medal ceremony with an emotional rendition of "Grace."
After the cheering stopped. Kellie Harrington, double Olympic champion pic.twitter.com/mXjIt4IR6V
— Chris Latchem (@chrisdotlatchem) August 6, 2024
Back in Dublin, the party was only getting underway, especially for thousands of her diehard fans in Dublin’s north inner city, who had watched the final on the big screen in Diamond Park. Portland Row’s finest, the ‘Queen of Dublin City’ did it her way.
August 12, 2024: Olympic Gold medalist Kellie Harrington at a homecoming event in Dublin. (RollingNews.ie)
Team of the Year Award goes to Paralympian cyclists
Katie-George Dunlevy, Ireland’s most decorated Irish Paralympic athlete, and her pilots Linda Kelly and Eve McCrystal, claimed the Team of the Year Award for their outstanding achievements at the Paralympics and World Championships this year.
In an amazing year, Dunlevy amassed five Paralympic and World Championship medals. In Paris, she won a gold and silver with new pilot Kelly as well as a silver with long-time partner McCrystal before going on to win two gold at the World Championships in Zurich with Kelly.
For a group of athletes to achieve what this trio did in ordinary circumstances would be remarkable. The fact that Dunlevy and her pilots achieved these results in a year in which they suffered a litany of setbacks including multiple crashes, injuries, and illnesses is barely believable.
In early May, Dunlevy and Kelly crashed during a World Cup race in Belgium, Dunlevy left badly bruised and with an injured hand, but Kelly sustained a concussion that ruled her out of action for a spell. Eve McCrystal then stepped in to pilot Dunlevy in another World Cup race in Italy 10 days later. They also crashed, but with Paralympic qualifying points at stake, the pair got back on their bike and managed a fourth-place finish despite Dunlevy being in agony. It was only later when she was X-rayed that she learned she had broken her collarbone.
Lying on her hospital bed, Dunlevy, who’s based in Crawley in the UK, put any thoughts that she wouldn’t be able to participate in Paris out of her head. She then flew back to Dublin, had her operation, and six days later was back on her bike, albeit using just one arm.
But that was just for starters. In all, Dunlevy and Kelly had five crashes through the year, Kelly had Covid twice and also had to endure a leg infection.
Dunlevy had an arm infection, and, on the eve of the Paralympics, picked up a virus that left her in bed in the athletes’ village for three days. And just before the World Championships, she tested positive for Covid.
But as Dunlevy explained, they were able to take all these setbacks in their stride.
“You know, I’ve had many challenges growing up and had lots of knock-backs, and I’ve been learning to live with sight loss all my life, so I think that just made me very resilient. A broken collarbone and illness? I was like, ‘oh, I’ve gone through much worse than this. And Linda had huge challenges this year too….we had to be there for each other and support each other which we did.”
Linda Kelly, Katie-George Dunlevy, and Eve McCrystal - Ireland's Team of the Year 2024. (Kieran Harnett)
Her success with Kelly this year has been remarkable, and Dunlevy paid tribute to the Wexford woman’s contribution to a medal-laden year. But there was a poignancy to her teaming up again with her long-time partner McCrystal from Co Louth for the B3,000m individual pursuit in Paris. It was McCrystal’s last Paralympics, so it was to be their final race together after a glittering decade of success.
“We have so many amazing memories. My first medal was with Eve in 2014 and my first Paralympic medal was with her in 2016. ...We had our challenging times, cycling is such a tough sport and tandem racing adds more challenges.
"But it’s an amazing sport – having a Paralympic athlete, a disabled athlete, racing and training with able-bodied athlete is something really special. It was a great end to our partnership and to the time we’ve had together.”
After the World Championships, Dunlevy was given a wonderful homecoming in her father’s native Mountcharles in Co Donegal, while further celebrations followed in her hometown of Crawley. Now 43, Dunlevy says she will carry on next year before making any decisions about LA 2028.
Whatever she decides, you know she’ll bring that winning mentality to it.
“When you stand on that top step of the podium, it makes everything worth it. It’s the best feeling. You forget about all the bad times, the injuries, the illnesses, the day you were so tired you didn’t want to go training. All of it. It just melts away.”
Noel O'Reilly, Sports Editor of The Irish Times, paid tribute to all the 2024 winners: “20 years ago, when the Sportswoman of the Year awards were launched, we could scarcely have imagined how high the bar would be raised.
"Each year, soaring new standards continue to be set by Irish sportswomen, inspiring and challenging those who will come after them.
“It’s been a thrill and a pleasure for us to report on their feats. A scroll through our list of overall winners is a reminder of just how many magical days they have given us, and a memorable 2024 has proved to be an exceptional year on so many fronts.
"A huge congratulations to all the monthly winners, sportswomen whose stories continue to show the next generation that nothing is impossible. Here's to another 20 years of excellence, and many more magical moments.”
Dr. Úna May, Sport Ireland CEO, said 2024 had been a year of fantastic accomplishment for our sportswomen: “Our female athletes continue to demonstrate that with dedication, ambition, and determination, the extraordinary is possible.
"The diversity of sports being celebrated at these Awards highlights the incredible breadth of talent right across the nation.
"To all who stand behind these athletes — coaches, families, volunteers, clubs, and communities — your unwavering support is instrumental in these achievements, and we extend our gratitude to you all.”
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