“This experience has been the dream of a lifetime for me”, said gymnast and closing ceremony flag bearer Simone Biles, who won five medals, four of them gold, in her first Olympics.
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A historic day for Flint-native Claressa Shields – who became the first U.S. Olympic boxer to win two gold medals.
While French fiancées Tony Yoka and Estelle Mossely both won gold, and Uzbekistan and Cuba won three each, the USA tally of a gold, silver and bronze represented an improvement on 2012 for the former powerhouse.
Shields had awarded herself a “C” after her first fight in Rio on Wednesday but it was “A” for achievement on Friday after the US boxer punched through to a second successive Olympic middleweight final.
Claressa Shields fights Dariga Shakimova of Kazakhstan in the women’s middleweight semifinal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Riocentro arena on August 19, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
Shields was fantastic in her repeat bid. At the Field House, she came under the tutelage of trainer Jason Crutchfield, who first taught her about boxing, then taught her about life.
Shields had all the answers as she breezed through three unanimous decision victories in the tournament.
“I’m just so happy and I prayed before I came here and I just knew God was with me”. Many consider her the best female boxer in the world. I want to see my sister and my little brother and I guess I’ll be back in training in a month or two.
She landed several times on Shields, but the American hardly looked bothered and was starting to turn the screw and came out with real intent at the start of the third round.
Shields said she’ll give that some thought after Rio.
“She convinced herself from the moment she got here that she was going to win that second gold medal and had it (the 2012 one) in the pocket waiting”, US coach Billy Walsh said.
“There was so much darkness around me”, she said.
Shields’ one-sided success and ensuing fame have been an enormous boon for USA Boxing, which is coming home from Brazil with one silver and one bronze from its men after failing to win anything in London. I think that now people are starting to embrace that. “I’m here to win a gold medal, so them beating me is winning a gold medal to them, so they go out there and they fight a lot harder than their other opponents”.
“The thing about Claressa, when she’s smiling and joking around, that’s when she’s the most risky”, he said. “You know, depends how tough my opponent comes at me”.
After her London win, Shields became something of a sensation, winning fans and followers with her candor and enthusiasm. I don’t remember getting hit throughout the fight. Unlike in 1996 when I got started, the raw talent that entered into the first Women’s National Championship was high in talent but low in quantity. “The only thing was last round, go in there, be smart, land your shots and finish and I did it”. “You got that round, ‘” Shields said. “I’ve been through a lot”. It was massive. She said, ‘You’re trying to build a team.’ Exactly.
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Right now, the two-time Olympic champion wants to go home to Flint to see her family.
