With Team USA’s gold medal, Anthony has three golds-the most among men’s basketball players ever; American women Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi have the most gold medals won by basketball players with four each-and a bronze. While Shields had been stalking Fontijn around the ring in the first round, in the second she changed her footwork – and in one artful sequence, she backpedaled smoothly out of trouble before landing a solid right on Fontijn.
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By the fourth round, it was Shields’ fight to lose, and she again dropped her fists and used her quickness to dodge Fontijn, bobbing left and right. Shields closed out the round strongly to take the first round on the scorecards. “This is insane”, Shields said in disbelief.
“Click though for some notable numbers from the final day of the 2016 Rio Olympics”. Sotomayor began strongly, winning the first round with a controlled display of distance boxing, but Gaibnazarov raised the tempo in the second and began to take the initiative, winning the final two rounds to earn a unanimous victory and the gold.
“I have been through a lot in my life”, said Shields, who combines a punishing punch with an infectious spirit. 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 can’t out think me, so how is she going to win? Jones was named the top boxer despite losing the gold-medal bout in scandalous fashion. “I thought I’d done enough to win”, said Zoirov afterwards. I don’t even remember getting hit throughout the fight. I don’t really know what I’m going to do.
“I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist!” That has changed, she said. “I worked so hard to get here”.
“I’m fighting for my family, I’m fighting for my future, I’m fighting for my city – to give them some hope and faith, because it’s so bad in Flint“, she told ESPN. She split from her longtime coach, Jason Crutchfield, who had coached her when she started boxing at 11 and had been a father figure.
The last American boxer to win two gold medals was Oliver Kirk, who claimed bantamweight and featherweight titles at the same 1904 St. Louis Olympics, where only US boxers took part. “I can’t believe I just did this”, Shields said. After she was presented with her gold medal, the Flint, Mich., native pulled out her 2012 medal atop the podium.
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. Last night, he told me to cheer up because I was so down about Shakur.
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121: The total number of medals won by the United States in the Rio Olympics.
