Olympics 2020 results: Ireland’s Harrington wins women’s lightweight gold

Harrington’s gold medal is Ireland’s one and only for boxing in Tokyo.

Kellie Harrington gave Ireland a gold medal in boxing at the Tokyo Olympics today, winning a tremendous final bout in the women’s lightweight division against Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.

The final tally was 5:0 in Harrington’s favor, but this was an intensely competitive bout, and watching this fight and this division throughout the Olympics, it was extremely clear that these are the two best in the world right now at this weight.

In the first round, Ferreira won three of five cards from the judges, but Harrington swept the next two rounds, though that’s not to say Ferreira didn’t have an argument in either one. This could have gone the other way, but the judges preferred the steadier work of Harrington, who also was probably the better defensive boxer overall here. Ferreria did land her share of good, hard shots, too.

All in all, this was just a terrific matchup, tactical and focused on both sides, with good work coming from each woman, and a huge amount of mutual respect shown after it was over.