Gary Russell Jr. out of boxing competition
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BEIJING -- Bantamweight Gary Russell Jr. is out of the boxing competition after collapsing Thursday night during a workout in a last-ditch effort to make the 119-pound weight limit ahead of Friday morning’s seeding draw.
Russell, 20, of Capitol Heights, Md., is a two-time national champion and was considered a likely contender for gold in Beijing.
A replacement athlete for that weight class cannot be named, according to the rules of the International Amateur Boxing Federation (AIBA).
‘I’m extremely disappointed,’ Russell said in a statement released by the United States Olympic Committee. ‘Competing in the Olympic Games has always been one of my dreams, and I wish I would have been able to represent my country alongside my teammates.’
All of the 286 boxers competing here were required to make weight Friday morning in order to be entered into the draw.
-- Kevin Baxter