Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington has revealed a letter from her wife Mandy urged her to get through qualification for the Paris Games for herself this time.
Tokyo victor Harrington is one win away from securing her place at Paris 2024 after comfortably beating Elida Kocharyan of Armenia in the last 16 of the women's 60kg category at the European Games in Poland.
Asked afterwards if she was feeling the pressure to succeed because of her previous Olympic success, the 33-year-old replied: "I haven't even thought that far, that's being very, very honest with you.
READ MORE: Kellie Harrington celebrates Dublin Pride as she shares snap with wife Mandy
"I'm just here to enjoy myself because I haven't really been enjoying it for a while and I've got the hunger back in the last couple of camps that we've been having.
"I've been feeling the joy and feeling the love again, and I got a card off my wife when I was coming out here and it was just saying, 'Do this one for yourself, the last one you did for everyone and gave the whole country a lift, this one is for you'.
"So that's what it is, it's for me - whatever happens here happens and whatever doesn't happen here, doesn't happen.
"I'm just here to express myself, basically."
In March, Harrington found herself at the centre of a storm after refusing to answer questions about a tweet about immigration that she posted last October.
She later released a statement defending her stance, in which she said she "didn't want to engage in politically sensitive matters".
The statement concluded: "Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear. As a sportswomen I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."
Harrington looked in excellent shape as she negotiated her way through the last 16 bout at the Nowy Targ Arena.
She won all three rounds against Kocharyan for a 5-0 victory and is expected back in the ring on Wednesday for the quarter-finals, where she will face Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson.
If she wins the contest she can look forward to another shot at Olympic glory.
"Yeah, I didn't feel so comfortable, to be honest. I was quite nervous going in," admitted the Dubliner.
"I had seen that girl back in the Europeans in October in Montenegro and I thought she was special, and she is special, she is one to watch.
"So yeah, it was a really good fight, I had the tactics spot on and I'll move forward now to the next one."
Harrington added that she was pleased to have gone into the fight with one bout already under her belt.
"I don't know how some boxers love to get the bye," she said. "I love to get going from the start because you shake off the dust and sometimes you just get better as you go on.
"Sometimes you don't, but sometimes you do and I think it's just really great to get rid of the ring rust."
It was a big day for Team Ireland in the ring with Harrington among five of the six boxers in action in Poland progressing to the quarter-finals.
Meath's Jennifer Lehane was first into the action and she got the better of Antonia Filippa Giannakopoulou in their hard-fought 54g bout, overcoming an early warning from the referee to claim a 5-0 victory.
"I got a bit mixed up in inside there, and that resulted in a point deduction first round," said Lehane.
"But I dug deep for round two and then again for round three, pushed it on to get a unanimous decision. So, I'm happy out."
Like Harrington, she will box for a place in the Olympics in Wednesday's quarter-final.
And Kelyn Cassidy is in the same situation after winning his exciting 80kg contest against Britain's Taylor Jay Bevin by split decision, with the Waterford fighter winning the first and third rounds.
Dublin heavyweight Jack Marley powered back from losing the first round 3-2 with the judges to secure a split decision victory over Vagkan Nanitzanian from Greece.
Marley needs two more wins to secure his ticket to Paris 2024, as only the finalists in the 92kg category will qualify.
Amy Broadhurst (66kg) is another who is one win away on Wednesday from the Olympics after her dominant 5-0 win against Latvian rival Beatrise Rozentale.
"It's nine minutes that I've waited my whole life for, since I was five years of age all I've wanted is the Olympics and I'm this close," she said.
"I'm going to get in and give it my everything, I'm going to do what I'm told and let the rest take care of itself.
"If I box at my best I'm very confident I can make the Olympics. We're making a statement on the big stage that we have an unbelievable team and all the hard work is paying off for all of us."
Broadhurst never looked in bother as she swept to victory.
"It was probably more dominant than I was expecting, I thought she'd come out and run at me because I sparred her in May and she's a tough girl, there's no quitting in her," said Broadhurst.
"But it was a good performance, you put your trust in these coaches because they're world class and these are the results you get, you get wins and you get dominant wins as well.
"I don't know where I get my strength, I probably get it from my dad - he's a block of a man, so I'm blaming it on him that I've inherited his strength!
"I'm lucky in that sense because if I didn't have the power that I do, I think I'd struggle a little bit more at this weight because they're powerful girls."
However Sean Mari failed in his bid to make it a clean sweep for the Irish contingent. The flyweight lost 5-0 to World bronze medallist and European champ Martin Molina Salvador of Spain in the 51kg division.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
