So dominant was her performance, Shields was named the outstanding boxer, male or female, of the Rio Games. Cuba and France won six and Kazakhstan and Russian Federation had five.
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“I don’t know what I’m going to do”. The then-17-year-old was the Olympic champion in 2012 in middleweight boxing.
“I worked so hard to get here”, she said, struggling to keep her composure through a rush of both relief and excitement.
Said Shields, as she held out her two gold medals for reporters to see, “This is killing my neck”.
Shields, who has never looked in trouble at any point in Brazil, stalked her unfancied opponent in the first round, swinging wildly but missing on a couple of occasions until she made contact with a heavy right near the end of the round.
Late in the fight, Shields acted like she was begging Fontijn to fight.
“You only get to win one Olympic gold medal at a time in boxing, and people didn’t give me my recognition for doing it the first time”, Shields said.
“I think, if anything, my secret is that instead of thinking about winning and thinking about gold medals and stuff like that, I try to value just my effort, value my improvement and value the love that I have for the sport”. And rounding out the Americans that medaled, the Golden Girl, Claressa Shields took home the gold medal for the second time in two Olympics. “Oh my God, I feel like I’m dreaming”. Shields closed the show in the fourth, opening the round with her hands down and begging Fontijn to come forward.
And after the gold medal was placed around her neck on the podium, Shields slipped her 2012 gold medal with the purple ribbon from her US jacket pocket and put that on, as well. Uzbekistan won two golds.
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya sloshed his way to the gold medal in the men’s Olympic marathon as Rio de Janeiro began its grand goodbye to the 2016 Games in clammy conditions that did nothing to dampen Brazil’s frenzied mood.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for a girl who grew up poor in Flint, Mich., the daughter of a former boxer who spent much of Shields’ childhood in prison and a mother who struggled with drugs and alcohol. Only this time, it was Yoka in the boxing vest and trunks and off to the medal stand for a matching gold of his own.
“When I started my quest for 2016, I decided that I have a great story to tell, and I want to inspire and help people”, she said. If she turns pro, she’ll be expected to be a player quickly.
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The victory lifted the United States’ total medal count to three after Nico Hernandez’s bronze at light flyweight and Shakur Stevenson’s silver at bantamweight, representing the Americans’ best overall haul since winning four at the Sydney Games – a testament to the program’s steady revival under Walsh. I don’t want to wake up right now.
