Kellie Harrington praised for "lovely gesture" after Olympic gold medal win
The Dubliner visited the home located close to the Olympic Village in Paris to delight locals
Kellie Harrington brought her gold medal to a French care home the morning after being crowned Olympic champion for the second time.
The Dubliner visited the home located close to the Olympic Village in Paris to delight locals just hours after her history-making win.
Harrington defeated China's Wenlu Yang at Roland Garros in the women’s 60kg final on Tuesday night as she added another gold medal to the one she won in Tokyo three years ago.
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Photos shared online by Team Ireland show the boxing champ posing with a number of women in the care home as she showed them her gold medal.
A large number of people took to social media to praise Harrington, who works as a cleaner at St. Vincent's Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin, for the kind gesture.
One wrote: "Leading by example, a real Champion."
Another commented: "Kellie is a true role model for all, this shows the character of a humble but great Champion."
Someone else said: "A lovely gesture."
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Simon Harris said that Harrington has done the country "extraordinarily proud" following her latest gold medal win.
Speaking at Government Buildings in Dublin on Wednesday morning, the Taoiseach said that Kellie’s win had "lifted the mood of the nation".
"She has made the country extraordinarily proud," Mr Harris said.
"I think people are absolutely ecstatic. She's lifted the mood of the nation. She's proven herself to be an unrivalled champion.
"She's a legend. She's an icon. She's an inspiration to many, many, many young people not only in her own community, but right across Ireland.
"I also proudly think of how far women's boxing has come in this country. I'm from Katie Taylor country [in Wicklow]. I remember back in 2012 when Katie won the medal and what that did for our focus on and an investment in boxing.
"Can I also just say more broadly, the Irish Olympic team have just done us so proud. 133 athletes, up from 116 in Tokyo.
"The highest number of medals ever in the Olympics. The highest number of gold medals ever in an Olympics.
"We’re about 12 in the table at the moment. I mean, there's only 5.6 million of us.
"We are really, pardon the pun, punching above our weight. It is a result of incredible athletes, incredible families, incredible coaches and, I'd like to think, investments that we've made in sport over the last number of years.
"We need there to be a legacy from this Olympics as we prepare for LA."
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