But one thing had clearly been irking her in the lead-up to the fight and it was, in her view, a pre-fight suggestion that Wednesday's opponent would not present a credible challenge, which she took a jab at.
"So here's the thing, right, because I saw a little clip in an article from a journalist, 'Kellie Harrington faces a decent opponent' - that's not the exact words," she said.
"Let me tell you something here and now, every person at these Games, in the Olympics, is a brilliant opponent. There's no easy fights here, there's no easy contests, they're all hard. Nobody gets to an Olympic Games without being at the absolute top of their game. So any fight is a hard fight."
She then headed out to the corridor behind the stand where supporters, coaches, delegates and dignitaries - Tánaiste Micheál Martin among them - were waiting, although they all had to bide their time that little bit longer as the two-time Olympian was whisked off for a routine doping control before she even had the chance to say a proper hello.
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Harrington and the two other Irish fighters on the bill for Wednesday had plenty of support in the arena as is customary at these Games.
My own vantage point was in the section where each country's team members, support staff and delegates were seated.
The contingent of Irish boxers already eliminated from their respective weight categories were there to show their support in the front row of seats just ahead, with Jennifer Lehane, Aidan Walsh and Gráinne Walsh vocally spurring their team-mates on.
Dean Clancy, the first of the Irish contingent to fight in Paris on Saturday, was also in the arena. A real show of togetherness.
They were there for the first Irish fighter in action as the 'Tyrone Tornado' Jude Gallagher tried to battle his way to a quarter-final of his own in the men's 57kg category.
But although he gave a good account of himself against Filipino Carlo Palaam - the smaller fighter proving to be a tricky target to hit - it wasn't enough to progress.
However, at just 22, he also struck a composed figure and offered a reminder that there are small victories beyond the outcomes in the ring.
"I'd be more fulfilled if I came home with a medal but this is what I've always wanted to do," he said.
"We sat there watching London and said, 'would you like to box here?' Now, 12 years later, I've boxed in the Paris Olympic Games.
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"It's a dream come true. I've a lot to be grateful for right now. Although the decisions didn't go my way, and I wanted a better outcome, the whole experience is surreal."
While he had opened Wednesday's chapter for the Irish, it was to be bookended by Castlerea's Aoife O'Rourke who was coming into Paris with a fair degree of expectation in the women's 75kg category as a multiple European champion.
She was facing a fighter, Poland's Elzbieta Wojcik, who she had never lost to on six previous occasions. And yet from the off, it felt like O'Rourke was snared into the scrappy and messy game plan that Wojcik employed to give herself a chance.
O'Rourke was unable to gain a real foothold to fight on her own terms as she was dragged into a war of attrition characterised by constant holding, with the referee's warnings not seemingly having an effect.
While she won the first round and her opponent got a public warning, the pattern of the fight did not change, with Wojcik keen to keep it a skirmish. From a layperson's point of view, it appeared that only one of the two wanted to box.
However, the judges began swinging towards the Pole in the second round and the tide remained out for O'Rourke in the third.
One was none the wiser as to what way the fight would be called but O'Rourke appeared stunned when her opponent's arm was raised and an upset was confirmed.
Beijing 2008 silver medalist Kenneth Egan, who had championed her as a dark horse for gold, had misgivings about the officiating given just how messy a fight it was.
Kenneth Egan felt that Aoife O'Rourke's opponent Elzbieta Wojcik was lucky to escape a second warning and point deduction on her way to winning their last-16 bout on a split decision https://t.co/UVj8G93jRo #RTESport #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/27K0QOJqdz
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 31, 2024
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