JAPAN WON’T BE END FOR KELLIE
KELLIE Harrington admits she loves ‘training like an animal’ and will continue to do so — with or without the Olympics next year.
The 2018 world championship gold medallist is targeting a place at the rescheduled Olympic Games in Tokyo but accepts there’s no guarantees they’ll go ahead.
Harrington, who turns 31 later this year, would have a big decision to make about her future if the games were cancelled.
The lightweight has not ruled out considering a career in the professional ranks but admits it would ‘literally be only for the money’ as her heart is in the amateur game.
Nevertheless, she says her life will continue to revolve around sport and exercise whatever happens with the Olympics.
‘I need to keep doing things for my own head, for my mental state of mind,’ said Harrington. ‘If I didn’t exercise I would probably need to take medication for my mental health. I look at what I do as a great way for sorting myself out basically. I think if a lot of people just tried some sport, they’d see the same benefits.
‘You don’t have to be a boxer, you don’t have to be a runner, you don’t have to have played football, or anything like that, just do some exercise, 30 minutes a day, it doesn’t have to be high intensity... allowing yourself to think differently than what you’ve been thinking before you got active and did that exercise.
‘Here’s the thing that I say about training for my mental health, I’m going to train anyway, whether these Olympics are next year or they’re not. I’m going to keep training and I’ll train the way I train because I just love it, I love training like an animal basically.
‘It’s my adrenaline rush so if they’re here next year, it’ll be great. If they’re not here next year, it will be sad but the training will still continue and I’ll just keep going on.’
Harrington has previously hinted at hanging up her gloves if the Olympics don’t go ahead though confirmed she’ll continue to fight at some level.
‘If there is no Olympics, I’d be interested in coming back and .... look, I’ve nine elite Irish titles, I’d be interested in coming back and getting another two Irish titles,’ said the 2019 European Games silver medallist. ‘International-wise, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do if the Olympics is cancelled but I’ll definitely be on the Irish scene anyway.’
Harrington was speaking at the National Indoor Arena and wore a protective face mask, explaining that she wore one previously at world championship finals in 2016 and 2018 to guard against possible infection.
‘The thing about it is, I don’t care about what anyone thinks,’ she said. ‘I’m kind of out there on my own. I just do what I’m doing. I wear what I wear and I say what I say. I care about what people think of me as a person but I don’t care of what they think of how I look, what I have on or what my hair is like or what clothes I’m wearing, what shoes are on my feet. I don’t care about those things. That’s all materialistic stuff, it doesn’t bother me whatsoever.”
Harrington has a tournament scheduled for Germany in October but admits she’s ultimately focused on the Olympics qualifiers in early 2021.
‘I’m not going out there to Germany to win a gold medal, I’m not going out there to win any medal, I’m just going out there to perform and to test myself and to see where I’m at and what improvements and adjustments I need to make,’ she said. ‘These competitions are all stepping stones until the European Olympic qualifier.’
● Kellie Harrington was at the launch of European Week of Sport 2020, September 23 to 30, in partnership with Sport Ireland.