CLEVELAND– A Cleveland-area teenager is looking to bring home the gold at the Summer Olympics.
Charles Conwell, Jr. returned to Cleveland on Monday after securing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. He earned a gold medal in the Americas Olympic Qualifier in Argentina over the weekend.
The middleweight fighter is a senior at Cleveland Heights High School. At 18 years old, he becomes the youngest person ever on the team U.S.A. boxing squad.
“Going into the tournament, I had to take top three to qualify for the Olympics. But, from the beginning of the tournament, I knew I was going to go home with the gold. I had a strategy and a game plan and it came through,” the future Olympic boxer said.
His father, Charles Conwell, Sr., is one of his trainers. He said this is the day his son has trained for since he started boxing at age 10.
“I knew it was going to happen. I knew the determination that he had. I knew the hard work that he put in, he was determined to win.”
So what’s next for the Olympic hopeful?
“School, Prom, graduation and getting ready for 2016 Rio,” he said, but not necessarily in that order. “I don’t know about that because I am always getting ready for Rio; mentally, physically, spiritually and everything else.”
This year’s Summer Olympics are being held in Rio De Janeiro in August.