KELLIE HARRINGTON is ready for second serve at Roland Garros – despite knowing nothing about the venue.
Harrington defeated Brazilian Beatriz Parreira– whom she beat to claim gold in Tokyo – to reach her second successive Olympic final.
She will fight at home of the French Open on Tuesday night with all of her fights to date at the Paris Nord Arena.
Harrington said: “I have no idea what it is. It’ll just be another arena and another opponent and whatever will be, will be.”
Irish supporters are sure to make a racket as she bids to become the first Irish woman to win two Olympic gold medals.
To do that, she must beat Wenlu Chang who beat her at the 2016 World Championships.
She said: “I remember it was very close, I thought I got the decision.
“I think I’m more mature, have a bit more physicality but she’s obviously got better too.”
Harrington’s performance against Ferreira was better than the one in Japan to leave the result beyond doubt.
And Harrington said: “I felt very much in control. She’s a fantastic opponent. She’s been beaten twice since Tokyo. I felt like the underdog.
“I thought she was going to come forward with a tight guard. I had visualised her just running, breaking that distance, getting close and me being in a bojangle trying to keep her off me.
“I don’t know whether that says a lot about me or a lot about her that I was able to keep the distance well.”
FINAL FAREWELL
The 34-year-old said she was savouring what she says will be her last international tournament.
She said: “I’m absolutely loving it. I mean, if you saw me in the Village though, you’d have to remind my face of that.
“But I am enjoying it. It’s a very, very lonely sport. A lot of the time I don’t cross the building, only to go down to the food hall and then back to the room or else down to the physio, that’s it.
“So you can imagine three weeks of that.
“When I get into that ring I am allowed to be the craziest version of myself. It’s the best feeling ever because nobody is judging me. Well maybe they are.
“But I just love that feeling. As much as I say I’m going to be retired, I don’t know what I am going to do as that feeling is going to be gone.
“I feel great. My weight has been 59.9 for the three weigh-ins in a row. But, still, I don’t ever want to see 60 kilos after the next weigh-in.”
She would not be drawn on the controversy surrounding the participation of Imane Khelif – whom she beat in Tokyo – following her disqualification from last year’s World Championships.
She said: “I didn’t know anything about that and it’s nothing to do with me. I am just enjoying my moment, for me, this is the Kellie Harrington show.”