Two-time Olympic Champion Claressa Shields becomes first female winner of the Val Barker Trophy for the outstanding woman boxer of Rio 2016
August 21st, 2016 / IBA
The USA’s 21 year-old Middleweight Claressa Shields made history on Sunday when she became the first American boxer to win two Olympic gold medals. Shields once again dominated the competition, winning the final against Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn in emphatic style. Her remarkable campaign also earned her the Val Barker Trophy for outstanding Olympic performance, the first woman ever to receive the honour.
“I made sure that my mind was prepared, but the fact that I won every round was amazing . I’ve known that I’m the greatest female boxer since I was 17 years old, so to be the first American boxer to win two Olympic gold medals, I can’t even believe it,” said Shields after the final.
Since 1934, the Val Barker Trophy has been awarded to the outstanding boxer at the Olympic Games as chosen by a committee of AIBA officials. Named after the President of the International Boxing Federation from 1926 to 1929, Englishman Val Barker, its previous winners include Cuban legend Teofilo Stevenson, Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko and Kazakhstan’s London 2012 Welterweight Champion Serik Sapayev, while Shields becomes the first ever female winner.
