Kellie Harrington: ‘It has been three years of madness. It’s been hard so I decided that is it for me’

She cheered, she wept, she danced, after midnight had come and gone she sang to the last few diehards in the bleachers but this one was for her.

STANDING TALLEST: An emotional Kellie Harrington with her gold medal after defeating Wenlu Yang of Team People's Republic of China. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

In Tokyo, the writing was on the wall. Kellie Harrington was set to retire after clinching a gold medal. She prepared for those Games by writing on the walls of her room in the Olympic Village. Gradually, it all changed.

It was a shorter cycle to Paris where she had the chance to end her career as a two-time Olympic champion. On Tuesday, the Dubliner did so as she secured Ireland’s fourth gold medal of the 2024 Games with victory over Wenlu Yang.