# Kellie Harrington‘s Roland Garros Night Inspires Jack marley’s Olympic Dreams
Kellie Harrington’s historic back-too-back gold medals in Tokyo and Paris, particularly her gold medal fight at Roland Garros, the home of French tennis, continue to inspire Jack Marley as he sets his sights on Olympic glory in LA.
The 22-year-old Marley fondly remembers witnessing his fellow Dubliner sing ‘grace’ after her dominant performance in the final. “It really was amazing,” Marley smiled. “Everyone flew in for that. It was crazy.”
He described the scene: “There where tricolours everywhere. Even Kellie singing afterwards and all the Irish supporters staying there for the celebrations, everyone else had gone and it was just us in Roland Garros. That was cool. I’d love to recreate that. That’d be good. Yeah, I have my heart set on LA.”
Qualifying for the LA Olympics begins in the first quarter of 2027. While Aidan Walsh recently announced his retirement, Harrington will be part of the journey – at least for a while.
She initially retired from international competition after Paris but remained with the elite boxing unit in Abbotstown. Her recent declaration of a return,with the Nationals in January as her first target,has been a boost to the team.
“Yeah, it’s grate to have her with us,” Marley said. “She’s the captain, the one we all look up to, the one we all want to be and the one that sets the standard for us all. So, it’s amazing to have her around. It’s amazing to know that we’ll have her around for I don’t know how long. It’s great that she announced she was staying.”
Marley believes age isn’t a defining factor in boxing. “I think each individual is different and I don’t think age is very defining in boxing. You can’t really judge someone’s longevity, how long someone’s going to be in the sport. And I think that’s what’s great about the sport as well. Even watching her on the pads or watching her on the bag, she was never slowing down, she was onyl getting faster and faster. So yeah, it’s good.”
‘We won’t moan about it.It’s a privilege to be here on this top international stage at 21 years of age’ – Jack Marley speaks after his quarter-final exit at the hands of davlat Boltaev#RTESport #Paris2024
📺Watch https://t.co/iUQJmJIhT6…
📱Updates pic.twitter.com/n2adeE3dop– RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 1, 2024
Marley, the youngest member of ireland’s Paris team, was the second-best performer after harrington, reaching the quarter-final stage before losing to Asian champion Davlat Boltaev.He valued the journey to the Games more then the result itself, noting that qualifying a year early and the condensed competition schedule at the Arena Paris nord contributed to that feeling. However,he maintains a consistent approach to outcomes in the ring.