Claressa Shields is a Flint native who won the gold medal in women’s middleweight boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the time, she was a junior in high school. She will be defending her Olympic title this year in Rio.
Shields was introduced to boxing by her father, who had competed in underground leagues, and she was inspired by Laila Ali. She began boxing at the age of eleven at the Berston Field House in Flint, where she met her coach and trainer Jason Crutchfield. By the age of 17, she was ranked No. 1 in the nation in her weight class.
Shields' fame has grown since the 2012 games. She was featured in ESPN the Magazine and met boxing great Floyd Mayweather. A documentary about her life,
Follow Claressa Shields on Twitter: @claressashields
Olympic ready @MikaelaMayer1 & @Claressashields read: https://t.co/bf00P9rJeQ @ABC @NBCNews @CBSNews #boxing pic.twitter.com/bYRFVSfoeB
— David Avila (@AvilaBoxing) August 4, 2016
Flint's Claressa Shields wins gold (2012)