Kellie Harrington confirms she will not work with Amy Broadhurst's partner due to GB switch

Broadhurst has been selected to represent Britain at the 60kg lightweight class for the last Olympic qualifier in Thailand.

Amy Broadhurst and Kellie Harrington celebrate with their gold medals at the 2022 Women's European Boxing Championships. Picture: ©INPHO/Aleksandar Djorovic

Kellie Harrington will not be working with Amy Broadhurst’s partner Eoin Pluck - a long-standing member of the IABA’s high-performance coaching staff - after Broadhurst’s change of allegiance from Ireland to Team GB.

Broadhurst won a world championship title in 2022 at a super-lightweight class that is not on the Olympic programme and she was overlooked for a qualifying shot in the heavier welterweight diversion when Grainne Walsh earned the nomination instead.

That in turn prompted the move to Team GB for the Louth boxer who holds a British passport through her English-born father Tony. She has since received the nod to represent Britain at the 60kg lightweight class for the last Olympic qualifier in Thailand.

All of which raises the prospect of Harrington, the reigning Olympic lightweight champion after her victory over Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira in Tokyo three years ago, and Broadhurst facing off in the ring in Paris.

Pluck is an experienced coach who has been involved with the Irish elite squad throughout this Olympic cycle but Harrington was straight up when asked how this unusual dynamic would affect her work between now and the summer.

“He won't be involved with me, which is a shame because he is a great coach,” explained the Dubliner on Wednesday afternoon, “but you can’t have that. Essentially, it is a spy in the camp so you can’t have that.” 

Irish boxer Kellie Harrington pictured at the launch of the SPAR Stay in the Game campaign. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

The IABA has yet to confirm their coaching staff for the Games themselves. The numbers travelling will be dictated by accreditation constraints, the numbers of boxers who qualify and by the seize of the wider Team Ireland contingent.

Whatever about the unique situation with Broadhurst and Pluck and their presence in opposing sporting camps, Harrington has no issue with her former teammate’s change of course, even if it could threaten her own hopes of defending the gold medal.

“I would be good friends with Amy,” said the Dubliner. “There is no bad blood or bad feelings towards Amy. She was a teammate and we don’t really have bad blood in Team Ireland and beyond.” 

The sensational switch to Team GB did not catch Harrington by surprise and, while plenty of people have focused on a potential bout between the pair in Paris, the reigning 60kg champion is mindful that there will be other boxers to contend with too.

“I'm going to say 22 because that seems to be an average number that's always in the weight categories. But if I was to think of just one person that would be absolutely crazy. There's so many really, really good girls out there and the draw has to be done.” 

Broadhurst is a superb fighter but her place in Paris is far from secure with either two or three places – yet to be determined officially – up for grabs in the 60kg section at the qualifier which gets underway in Bangkok on May 24th.

“That as well,” said Harrington, “and I think she should [qualify]. Like, you never overlook anybody and the way I look at it is I train now for different types of styles and then the draw gets done and then you go from there, and that's it.

“One day at a time and one foot in front of the other and you take it minute by minute in the ring. That's it.” Ireland will have seven boxers at the qualifiers in Thailand while Harrington is one of half-a-dozen already qualified. The final Olympic team will hold a three-week pre-Games camp in Assisi in Italy from the start of July before decamping to France.

The tournament is just eleven weeks away now and the 34-year old described how she has entered the phase of preparation where she needs to be “more focused and selfish” and ignore the noise and the fervour around the whole Olympic circus.

Tokyo was a very different affair with Covid prompting the last Games to be delayed by a year and then completed without any spectators in the venues. Paris promises to be a much greater shock to the senses in ways that could be good or bad.

“What we’ll have to really do is try to stay in control of what you’re doing out there, and your emotions, and your activity: that you’re not going off and meeting people and wasting energy.

“You need to be conserving all that for training and for competition, and not like, getting caught up with anything that’s going on at home, or outside the village, or in the village, because I imagine it will be like an Irish invasion over there.” 

Brand ambassador Kellie Harrington was promoting the SPAR Stay in the Game campaign, which aims to be a catalyst for teenage girls to sustain their sports participation, fostering confidence, providing life skills and lifelong wellness among young female athletes.

To nominate a post-primary school or club visit www.spar.ie/communityfund