Sports
BELFAST boxer Brendan Irvine and team-mate Kellie Harrington will carry the Irish flag at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.
Irvine, who represented Ireland at the Rio Olympics in 2016, also captains the seven-strong Irish boxing squad.
Harrington, 31, is making her Olympic debut, having beaten Caroline Dubois in the qualification tournament in June.
For the first time in Olympic history, all 205 countries will have a male and female flag bearer.
It is being done as part of a gender parity initiative from the International Olympic Committee.
Irvine, 25, becomes the fourth Belfast-born boxer to carry the Team Ireland flag at an Olympic opening ceremony after Jim McCourt (1968), Wayne McCullough (1988) and Paddy Barnes (2016).
Boxing is Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport, with 16 of the 31 Irish medals having been won by boxers.
Flyweight Irvine is competing in his second Olympics while Games debutant and 2018 world champion Harrington goes into the tournament as one of the top seeded boxers in the lightweight division.
Dubliner Harrington described her selection as one of Ireland’s two flagbearers as an “amazing honour”.
“This means so much to me, to be able to represent not only myself as a person, but as a boxer, for boxing, for my family and for Ireland,” said the 31-year-old.
Harrington added that she was “so happy” that Irvine will also be undertaking the flag carrying role.
“I know Brendy a long time now, and he is a fantastic person. He is what you call a leader; he leads the team.”
BBC Sport
– July 20, 2021 @ 09:08 GMT /
Tags: Boxers Brendan Irvine & Kellie Harrington to carry Ireland flag at opening ceremony
