COLORADO SPRINGS — We are only a day away from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And for those athletes making their Olympic debut, the moment is finally here.
USA Boxer, Rashida Ellis grew up in a competitive environment as the youngest of 5 kids, all athletes. And growing up Rashida always wanted to play the tougher sports, like football and basketball with her brothers. Little did she know that this urge for the grittier sports would lead her to compete for Team USA.
She will be making her Olympic debut this month in Tokyo. One of four female boxers on the U.S. Olympic team, Rashida will be competing in the 60 kg weight class. Rashida says she enjoys boxing and something that sets her apart in the ring is her smile. While boxing is a grueling sport, she finds joy in it and smiles while competing against her opponents. She hopes to bring that smile back to the U.S. with a gold medal here soon because competing in the Olympics is something she’s always dreamed of doing.
"Well, that was, like, one of my main goals when I started boxing. I’ve always wanted to get a gold for the Olympics because that’s big for females. National tournaments, world tournaments, that’s not that big. But if you get a gold at the Olympics, everybody will know you. You know, I just want to be known and let everybody know that I’m the best at my weight class,” said Ellis.
“Oh, they love it. They’re big supporters. Because they never went to the Olympics, so I’ll be the first one in the family to get to go to the Olympics. But I’m getting a medal, you know, I’m going to get that gold. They know that too because this is my time now.”
You can watch Rashida and the other 9 qualified boxers compete in Tokyo on NBC. The competition will take place from this Saturday through August 8th. Rashida will be competing on Monday in the Women’s Light Preliminaries. Here is the schedule.
