Kellie Harrington 'very' important part of Team Ireland in retirement update
Harrington confirmed her retirement after the Paris Olympics, but those in boxing circles have remained quietly optimistic that the two-time gold medal winner may reverse her decision.
With the newly revamped World Boxing Championships taking place next month in Liverpool, Harrington is not part of the travelling squad, and Mackey did not get fully drawn into answering a question about her possible return.
"That's a question for Kellie," he told RTE's Morning Ireland. "What I can say is she's very much part of what we do on a day-to-day basis here.
"She's on an individualised training programme and she's ticking over. As I said, she's very important to our unit and our programme. What she does in the future remains to be seen, and that will be a conversation with Kellie in due course, but I'm sure she'll be watching closely in Liverpool and willing the team on."
Although not part of plans for this year's World Championships, Harrington is still consistently training away. The Portland Row native gets full use of Sport Ireland's High Performance facilities for the 12 months after the Olympics, and a conversation will take place at the end of the year about Harrington's future plans.
At Ireland's official homecoming, coach Zaur Antiai teased Harrington in front of the crowd, saying that she had another Olympics run in her. The boxer herself declared she had 'no more mountains to climb' following her victory, but towards the end of 2024, she did hint that she had not fully committed to her retirement.
If Harrington does commit to one more Olympic cycle, it would be a remarkable achievement and endeavor, given that she will be nearly 39 years old come the Los Angeles Games.
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