Kellie Harrington will box for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games this coming Sunday as she put in a tough and gritty performance in her semi-final bout against Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand this morning, to take the win – and a minimum silver medal – on a 3-2 split decision.
They were neck-and-neck throughout, with Kellie taking a 3-2 edge in the opening two rounds, leaving a big closing round ahead. Patience was key for Harrington though, and it paid off in the third, as she kept her composure against the tricky southpaw, to maintain her 3-2 lead and take the win. Kellie has now secured a minimum of an Olympic silver medal, and will box for gold this coming Sunday in the Women’s Light (57-60kg) Olympic final.
“It’s fantastic,” she said afterwards. “Olympic silver medallist. That’s the stuff that people dream about.”
In golf, Stephanie Meadow was first to hit the course this morning, beginning her round on 1-over par after an opening 72 yesterday.
A bogey on the par 3 10th was followed by birdies on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th to secure a second round 66 and leave her tied for 12th, while Leona Maguire has just finished with a 4-under 67 as the rest of the field are still on the course.
Elsewhere, diver Tanya Watson put in another assured performance off the boards this morning, but missed out on qualification for the 10m Platform final, finishing in 15th place after scoring 278.15 points.
BOXING
Kellie Harrington will box for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games this coming Sunday as she put in a tough and gritty performance in her semi-final bout against Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand this morning, to take the win – and a minimum silver medal – on a 3-2 split decision.
A tactical bout from the opening second, Harrington and Seesondee were neck-in-neck throughout, with the Dubliner taking a 3-2 edge in each of the opening two rounds, leaving a big closing round. Patience was key for Harrington though, and it paid off in the third, as she kept her composure against the tricky south paw, to maintain her 3-2 lead and take the win. Kellie has now secured a minimum of an Olympic silver medal, and will box for gold this coming Sunday in the Women’s Light (57-60kg) Olympic final.
“Close fight. I knew it was going to be a chess match,” Harrington said afterwards. “I fought her in 2018 in the World Final. It was tricky then, it was a chess match then, and it was a chess match today. She didn’t want to give anything, I didn’t want to give anything, but eventually someone had to. It was patience that was key, I kept my patience and she didn’t. And that’s what won me the fight. The coaches were in the corner telling me, ‘stay patient’ and giving me tactics to throw and it worked.”
Reflecting on how it feels to be through to an Olympic final and have a silver medal secured she continued, “It’s fantastic. Olympic silver medallist. That’s the stuff that people dream about. Many tried to get there, many don’t have what it takes to succeed because they don’t have the willpower, the determination, the focus, the dedication. I eat, sleep and breathe boxing. I’ve had heartbreak. I know what it is to fail and I know how hard it is to pick yourself back up after that. This is why I am who I am, and why I am here today – because I’m not afraid of failure. I know what it is. I’m Kellie Harrington. I’m myself and I make my own pathway.”
Kellie will face off against Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil in the Women’s Light Olympic final at 6am Irish time on Sunday.
DIVING
Ireland’s Tanya Watson was back in action on the 10m platform this morning at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, this time for the semi-finals. Her historic appearance as the first Irish Olympic female diver in the quarter-finals yesterday, saw Watson qualify for today’s session in 15th place after scoring 278.15 points.
In this morning’s semi-finals, Watson performed the same five dives from the quarter-finals, with two of her five dives scoring higher than yesterday’s performance. Indeed, it was another overall impressive display from the 19-year-old diver, who maintained her remarkable composure and control across the five dives today, scoring 278.15 points for 15th position. With the top 12 advancing to the finals later on today, Watson was just outside the qualifying mark by 23.25 points.
Her five dives ranged in difficulty from 2.8 to 3.2, with her most difficult dives performed first and last. In the first dive, Watson performed a back 2 ½ somersaults, 1 ½ twists with a difficulty level of 3.2. Her score of 64.00 points was up by 1.6 points from yesterday’s same dive and left her sitting comfortably in 9th position with four dives to follow.
This was followed by a forward 3 ½ somersaults for her second dive, scoring 63.00, an impressive six points higher than yesterday’s dive and one of Watson’s best executions of that particular dive this year. Watson’s third dive – a back 2 ½ somersaults – was her lowest scoring dive on 39.15 points to move her down to 15th position, where she also remained after her fourth dive – a reverse 2 ½ somersaults. Her final dive was an inward 3 ½ somersaults, which had a difficulty of 3.2 and she scored 56.00. She rounded out the day with 278.15 points for 15th.
Speaking after her performance Watson said: “Making the semi-finals was amazing. To be able to go out there again and dive was great. I just love flying through the air! I was nervous up there a bit, but at the end of the day, once I am at the end of the board, I am focusing on something specific so I am just trying to do the best that I can with that really.”
GOLF
Stephanie Meadow was first to hit the course this morning, beginning her round on 1-over par after an opening 72 yesterday. Meadow was 2-under for her last three holes on Wednesday and reached the back nine today on 2-under par for her round and 1-under total. A bogey on the par 3 10th was followed by birdies on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th to secure a second round 66 and leave her tied for 12th as the rest of the field are still on the course.
“I just kind of managed it a bit better today I think,” said Meadow afterwards. “I still didn’t have my best stuff but I gave myself a little bit more room on left pins and didn’t short side myself so that was really the key and is always part of shooting under par.
“I guess I hope I can start like that tomorrow. There’s a lot of wedges on the last few, they’re easy-ish holes and they moved the tee on 18 up today so all of those things contribute but I finally got comfortable, hit good shots and started to see it a bit better.”
The heat is still a factor, with tournament organisers implementing additional heat mitigation measures including provision of umbrellas on the first tee and roving carts providing ice and cooling towels to players, caddies and officials.
While Leona Maguire has just finished with a 4-under 67 (updates and quotes to follow later today) – the lead – on 13-under – is currently held by Nelly Korda (USA) who finished 9-under for her round. Aditi Ashok (India), Nicole Koerstz-Madsen (Denmark) and Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark) are tied for 2nd on 9-under par.
ENDS
MORNING RESULTS DAY 13: AUGUST 5TH, 2021
BOXING
Women’s Light (57-60kg) semi-final: Kellie Harrington (IRL) v Sudaporn Seesondee (THA), win for IRL 3-2 split decision (progresses to the final)
DIVING
Women’s 10m Platform Semi-Final: Tanya Watson, 15th with 278.15 points
GOLF
Women’s Individual Stroke Play Round 2: Stephanie Meadow – 72, 66
Women’s Individual Stroke Play Round 2: Leona Maguire – 71, 67
DAY 13 SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ARE IRISH TIME): August 5th, 2021
*Schedule may be subject to change
Ongoing Modern Pentathlon – Natalya Coyle – Women’s Individual, Fencing Ranking Round
07:30 Cycling – Mark Downey – Men’s Omnium Scratch Race 1/4
08:27 Cycling – Mark Downey – Men’s Omnium Tempo Race 2/4
08:30 Athletics – David Kenny – 20km Walk, Final
09:07 Cycling – Mark Downey – Men’s Omnium Elimination Race 3/4
09:55 Cycling – Mark Downey – Men’s Omnium Points Race 4/4
12:00 Athletics – Andrew Coscoran – Men’s 1500m semi-final
