(JULY 29) COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.
(JULY 29, 2016) - The U.S. Olympic Boxing Team has now been on
the ground in Rio de Janeiro for nine days and the squad has
adjusted well to their new surroundings. After arriving in
Brazil on Wednesday, July 20, the team opened a joint training
camp with host nation Brazil and the Irish squad at the Naval
School in Rio de Janeiro. Team USA concluded the multi-nation
camp on Thursday after a successful week of training and moved
in to the Olympic Village this morning.
In final preparation for the
Olympic Games, the U.S. squad participated in joint training
sessions with the Brazilian and Irish teams in addition to
aquatic workouts at the Naval School and Brazilian training
center. The 2016 Olympic Games will begin one week from today
with the Opening Ceremony at the Maracana Stadium and boxing
competition will commence on Saturday, August 6.
The team is currently enjoying their new digs at the Olympic
Village and will continue fine tuning their preparation at the
official training facility in the Riocentro Pavilion through the
start of competition. The full U.S. Olympic Boxing Team will
speak to the press before the start of competition at their
pre-Olympic Games press conference on Wednesday, August 3 at
noon at the Main Press Centre.
Prior to the Opening Ceremony, all of the 286 Olympic boxers
will learn their opening round opponents and the date of their
first bout at the official tournament draw on Thursday morning.
The full list of U.S. first round contests will be released
following the completion of the draw.
The eight athletes competing for Olympic gold are male light
flyweight Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas), male flyweight
Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.), male bantamweight Shakur
Stevenson (Newark, N.J.), female lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los
Angeles, Calif.), male lightweight Carlos Balderas (Santa Maria,
Calif.), male light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell (Capitol
Heights, Md.), 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields
(Flint, Mich.) and male middleweight Charles Conwell (Cleveland
Heights, Ohio).
Olympic boxing competition will run from August 6 - August 21 at
the Riocentro Pavilion 6. For a full schedule of Olympic boxing
competition by day and weight class click here.
For more on the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, go to http://www.teamusa.org/usa-boxing/rio-2016.