(JULY 21)
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Team
USA closed the 2014 Pan American Olympic Festival in gold medal
fashion with four final round victories on Sunday in Mexico
City. All four American competitors won gold medals in the
multi-sport event, which provided a preview of next year’s Pan
American Games in Toronto. 2012 Olympian Queen
Underwood (Seattle,
Wash.) and multi-time national champion Cam
F. Awesome (Lenexa,
Kansas) each earned four wins en route to Pan American Olympic
Festival Championships. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Marlen
Esparza (Houston,
Texas) and 2012 Olympic Champion Claressa
Shields (Flint,
Mich.) took three victories a piece to win their gold medals in
Mexico City.
Awesome, one of the most
internationally traveled boxers on the U.S. squad over the last
two years, took pride in representing the men’s squad at the
2014 Pan American Olympic Festival. He took on the first of
three host nation opponents for the U.S. team in final round
competition on Sunday. Awesome ignored the rowdy, hometown crowd
and defeated Mexico’s Edgar
Ramirez by
unanimous decision in
the super heavyweight championship bout.
Esparza faced off with the second
member of Mexico’s team in her women’s flyweight final round
bout with Sulem
Urbina. Once
again, it was the American boxer taking gold by unanimous
decision. The Olympic bronze medalist won a 3-0 victory over
Urbina to earn the second gold medal of the night for Team USA.
The trend continued in
Underwood’s women’s lightweight showdown with Mexico’s Victoria
Torres.
The 2012 Olympian clinched the Pan American Olympic Festival
title with a 2-1 victory over Torres to earn her second gold
medal in continental action this year. She opened the year with
a victory in the annual Independence Cup in the Dominican
Republic.
Shields enjoyed the chance to
close the show for her American squad on Sunday night. She took
on the Dominican Republic’s Yenebier
Guillen in
the female middleweight championship bout and Shields earned her
second victory of the year over the Dominican boxer. The Olympic
gold medalist once again sent the American flag to the rafters
with a unanimous decision over Guillen in the final U.S. bout on
Sunday.
Despite having only four competitors, the United States placed
second in the team standings with Mexico and its 13 participants
taking the first place position.
The Pan American Olympic Festival
was a multi-sport event with approximately 3500 athletes
competing in 23 sports across Mexico.
U.S. Results
112 lbs/female: Marlen
Esparza, Houston, Texas/USA dec.
Sulem Urbina, MEX, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Queen
Underwood, Seattle, Wash./USA dec.
Victoria Torres, MEX, 2-1
165 lbs/female: Claressa
Shields, Flint, Mich./USA dec.
Yenebier Guillen, DOM, 3-0
201+ lbs/male: Cam
F. Awesome, Lenexa, Kansas/USA dec.
Edgar Ramirez, MEX, 3-0
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