Two active-duty soldiers with the Army's World Class Athlete Program reached the fourth day of competition at the U.S. Olympic women's boxing team trials in Memphis before their second losses knocked them out of the double-elimination event.
First Lt. Giovanna Camacho fell to Christina Cruz in the 112-pound division Thursday via unanimous decision; the two met Monday in the opening round of the eight-woman bracket, with the same result. Pfc. Rianna Rios also fell via unanimous decision, losing her 132-pound contest to Jajaira Gonzalez.
Pfc. Rianna Rios, right, poses after her victory Wednesday over Samantha Kinchen during the U.S. Olympic women's boxing team trial in Memphis, Tennessee. Rios went 2-2 in the double-elimination tournament.
Photo Credit: Army MWR via Facebook
Both boxers went 2-2 in their first appearances at a U.S. Olympic trial. Two other WCAP members, Spcs. Alex Love (112-pound class) and Naomi Graham (165), went 1-2 with first-round losses Monday, wins Tuesday and losses Wednesday in elimination bouts.
Cruz eliminated Love on the third day of the event. She had also reached Day 3 in the trials leading up to the 2012 London Games; Love joined the Army in 2013.
Graham bounced back from an opening-round loss to earn a 2-1 decision over Danyelle Wolf in Tuesday's action. She lost to Franchon Crews on Wednesday; Crews, an eight-time national champion and former world silver medalist, was eliminated Thursday.
The tournament semifinals are set for Friday night, with finals on Saturday (and Sunday, if a rematch is necessary due to the double-elimination format).
A number of WCAP athletes — active-duty soldiers who pursue their Olympic dreams and promote the service through their competitions and other events — already have qualified for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as have members of the Army Marksmanship Unit, a separate group of elite shooters based at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Still other active-duty Army athletes have time to train before their sport's final Olympic qualifier. The grapplers in WCAP's wrestling program, for example, won't head to Iowa for the Olympic trials until April. Three WCAP soldiers wrestled in the 2012 London Olympics.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
