Ireland’s Kellie Harrington won gold in the women’s 60kg at the Paris Olympics, but Team GB boxer Lewis Richardson was edged out of making the men’s 71kg final following defeat to Mexican Marco Verde.
Harrington was crowned double Olympic champion after beating Wenlu Yang at Roland Garros in the women’s 60kg final.
Following a cagey start, Yang began to land more punches and looked to be in control, but Harrington regained her composure and landed a flurry of body shots before the bell went.
The Chinese boxer burst out of the blocks in the second round with a strong punch to the nose, but Harrington continued to cause damage with some heavy body shots.
A comfortable final round saw the Irish fighter land some quick jabs to wrap up Ireland’s fourth gold medal of the Games.
Lewis Richardson had to settle for bronze after being beaten on split decision by Mexico’s Marco Verde in the men’s 71kg semi-final at Roland Garros
Earlier in the night, Richardson was forced to settle for bronze after being beaten on split decision by Verde.
The Brit started well landing a solid punch to Verde’s face, but the Mexican grew back into the round throwing a series of different combinations and breaking through the British fighter’s defence.
The second round saw the Colchester fighter show off his skills, landing a great uppercut and a couple of big blows to Verde’s head to take the round.
An evenly-poised contest boiled down to the third round and Richardson began to use his reach more, throwing a big strike to Verde’s nose.
The Mexican caught the British fighter on the cheek but struggled to land some big swings before being hit in the face again by Richardson.
However, all five judges saw it differently and awarded the Mexican the round which meant Richardson’s dream of reaching the Olympic final was over.
Bronze means Richardson is the only British boxer at Paris 2024 to win a medal.
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Richardson became the only boxer from Team GB to win a medal in Paris 2024 after losing out to Mexico’s Marco Verde in the welterweight category
He was already guaranteed bronze following victory against Zeyad Eashash in the quarter-finals on Saturday and reflected on a bittersweet feeling after missing the chance to go for gold.
He said: “It’s very raw and it is hard to process right now.
“I’ve won that bronze medal, but it’s hard to fully celebrate because you’re moving onto the next one and looking to change the colour of that medal.
“I’m sure I’m going to make a conscious effort whenever the time’s right – and hopefully sooner rather than later – to flick that switch and be proud of what I’ve achieved.
“Because rightly or wrongly I’m the only British boxer to medal at these Games and I hope I’ve made the country proud.”
Verde will now fight Uzbekistan’s Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev for the gold later this week.
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