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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Sara Rountree

Olympic hero Kellie Harrington spars with local boxers in Cork

Olympic hero and boxing champ Kellie Harrington was down with some of Cork's up-and-coming boxers the local southside club saw thousands in funding.

As part of a Community Fund initiative by Spar, the Spartan Boxing Club in Turners Cross was gifted €2,000 for its club.

Spartan Boxing club said they will use the funding for more training gear and clubhouse improvements.

Kellie visited the small Cork club and met with coaches and members of the boxing club, including many young fans who were inspired to meet the inspirational boxer.

She even took to the ring to spar with some of the young club members and taught them some tips and tricks.

And as the club was given their cheque for €2,000, Kellie gifted them with a signed boxing shirt.

Speaking with Cork Beo, Kellie said, "Hopefully it will go along way for the club, it's great to be here to be able to be here and give it to them,

"And it's great to be able to meet people and do a couple of pads with a couple of the boxers from the club."

She added that she thinks the boxing scene in Cork is "absolutely brilliant."

"One of my great boxing friends Christina Desmond is actually from Cork, she's one of my great friends from boxing and we're great friends outside of boxing

"It's fantastic, Cork, in general, is just absolutely brilliant,

"We really, really like it down here,

"Myself, my brother and my dad are down here and we love it."

The €2,000 funding to Spartan Boxing Club brings the total invested by SPAR in Community initiatives over the last six months to €20,000.

Kellie added: "This initiative means so much to me. Over the course of the last six months,

"With that kind of money, we are making a real difference to the lives of people who are in need of a little support or a leg up.

"What we’ve achieved over the last number of months feels like the start of something special.”

Spar recently announced a three-year partnership with Kellie in November 2021 that will see SPAR support Kellie on her journey to Paris 2024.

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