European Games: Ireland's Kellie Harrington wins lightweight gold medal in Poland
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Ireland's Kellie Harrington proved too strong for Natalia Shadrina in her final
Ireland's Kellie Harrington added the European Games gold medal to Olympic qualification to complete the perfect week in Poland.
The Olympic champion beat Serbia's Natalia Shadrina in the lightweight final despite losing the first round.
After she found her range and lifted the tempo the result was never in doubt and she won on a unanimous decision.
Also on Saturday, heavyweight Jack Marley lost his final to Italy's Aziz Abbes Mouhidine on a unanimous verdict.
"The first round I was sparring, seeing what she could bring to the table and she was jumping in with her shots," said Harrington after securing gold.
"I knew I had to put a bit of a push in and that's what I did. I knew what the score was because I could hear the Irish fans screaming. It wasn't domination, it was smart, tactical boxing," said Harrington.
"Job done, the relief is incredible and I can't wait now to go home and sit on my couch and I know it sounds awful but not talk to anyone because I need to chill out."
Earlier in the week Harrington admitted that had she not qualified for the Paris Games next year she would have most likely retired but now the Dubliner can look ahead to defending her lightweight title in a little over a year's time.
"The love is always there for the sport but sometimes I lose it and then I get it back again. It's a love-hate relationship," she said.
"The excitement is definitely there and with the European qualifiers over with that gives me and the team some work to do and then we'll see who comes through the next set of qualifiers and then we can prepare for Paris."
Disappointment for Marley
Marley had boxed superbly all week to reach the final but reigning European champion and world silver medallist Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine proved a fight too far. That's not to say Marley didn't give everything but the Italian had too much experience on his side.
The Sallynoggin fighter had to settle for silver but punched his ticket to the Olympics by reaching the decider.
"He's been around the block a few times and I know this was going to be tough but I thought I gave it a good go and left a little imprint for the Olympics," said Marley.
"I'm just going to keep training harder than I've ever done in my life and keep learning and improving. It was a privilege to fight for my club, my family and my country this week. I'm delighted."
Canoe slalom
Alistair McCreery is through to the quarter-final of the Men's Kayak Cross in Canoe Slalom.
The Belfast man produced a sensational run to qualify for the next round finishing ninth out of the 52 athletes who started. Today's qualification round was a time trial which will form the basis of the seeding for the head-to-head rounds that take place on Sunday.
McCreery said: "It was really good. It was a good run. We've had three or four races this season and I've done some good stuff but haven't quite been able to put a run together in the kayak cross but it all came together nicely there."
Also on the final day of the European Games, Jordanstown's Jake Cochrane, and Liam Jegou will contest the Men's Canoe semi-final with Michaela Corcoran lining up in the Women's equivalent.
Kickboxing
Irish kickboxer Nicole Bannon in action against Luna Mendy of Italy
Ireland's kickboxing team will take home five medals with three finals to look forward to on the final day of competition.
Nathan Tait got semi-finals day at the Myslenice Sports Arena underway with an emphatic win in the Men's Point Fighting 74kg, beating Switzerland's Danylo Mancari 13-6.
Amy Wall followed up with a dominant win in her Full Contact 60kg semi-final and will also fight for gold. The Bray schoolteacher, who has won an impressive three World WAKO titles, won the first and second rounds, and following a drawn third round was awarded the win by all three judges against her Polish opponent Kinga Szlachcic.
Wall said: "I can't believe it; a really tough fight, I'm really happy to be in the final, I can't wait for tomorrow and see how it goes."
Conor McGlinchey also came out on top in a battle with Italy's Riccardo Albanese to progress to the gold medal fight in the Men's Point Fighting 85kg semi-final, while Tallaght's Jodie Brown lost 11-9 to Slovenia's Tina Baloh to miss out on the 70kg Point Fighting final.
Brown, 20, will leave her first European Games with a bronze medal as will Nicole Bannon, who put in a spirited effort in the Women's Light Contact 60kg semi-final, but was ultimately beaten by Italy's Luna Mendy 2-1.
Triathlon
The Triathlon Mixed Relay took place under torrential rain at Nowa Huta Lake. James Edgar, Erin McConnell, Luke McCarron along with Tokyo Olympian Carolyn Hayes competed for Team Ireland, finishing in 14th position in a time of 1:10:57.
Each member of the team completed a short distance triathlon which includes a 300m swim, 5km bike and 1.5km run, tagging the next person in line when they finish.
Lisburn's Edgar got Team Ireland off to a fantastic start exciting the water in fifth place. Derry's McConnell was next in line to compete, keeping the team within the top ten as she handed it over to fellow Derry native Luke McCarron.
At this point the race was thinning out, and during the bike leg, despite his best efforts, McCarron lost touch with the top ten coming out onto the run in twelfth place.
The experienced Tokyo Olympian Carolyn Hayes was the final athlete to go. The Limerick Triathlete held her own in slippery conditions to cross the line in 14th place for the team.
This is the team's first outing together in a major championship race, they will use this experience racing together as they build ranking points towards Paris 2024 Olympic qualification.