Olympian.
That’s how Lynn native Rashida Ellis will be defined for years to come after she was announced as one of six members of the United States Olympic Boxing Team on Thursday afternoon. Ellis, who trains at Private Jewels Fitness in Lynn, will compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer.
“Qualifying for the Olympics has been one of my deepest dreams,” said Ellis, who graduated from Lynn English in 2014. “I never doubt my ability. I have stopped being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right.”
Ellis, the 2019 Elite Women’s World Championships bronze medalist, will compete in the women’s lightweight (132 lbs./60 kg) division. Ellis won bronze at the 2019 Pan American Games, adding to her Boxing Task Force (BTF) rankings to solidify her position in Tokyo as the second highest-ranked American boxer and 12th overall in her weight class. Ellis will be looking to win Team USA’s first women’s lightweight Olympic medal.
But Ellis’ list of accomplishments is much longer than that. An Elite National Championship winner as a high schooler in 2013, Ellis went on to win the National Golden Gloves in 2016 and then another Elite National Championship in 2018. She went on to finish first in the US Olympic Team Trials in 2020 before the pandemic postponed the Games for one full year. Ellis also took home a bronze medal at the 2020 Boxam International Tournament.
“I embrace my mistakes and learn from them, as my mistakes have helped me improve and reach the Olympics,” said Ellis. “I don’t do ‘easy’; I make things happen. With hard work, dedication, effort and determination, I can succeed.”
Ellis also has two professional boxing brothers — welterweight “Speedy” Rashidi Ellis (23-0, 11 KOs) and super middleweight Ronald Ellis (18-2-2, 12 KOs). Ronald also serves as Rashida’s coach.
Also representing Team USA at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, pending United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee approval, will be Virginia Fuchs (Houston, Texas), Naomi Graham (Fayetteville, N.C.), Delante Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio), Oshae Jones (Toledo, Ohio) and Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.). All six boxers will be competing in their first Olympic Games.
“These six boxers have been staples within our program and have established themselves amongst the world’s best by their performances during the past quad,” said USA Boxing High Performance Director Matt Johnson. “Now it is time for them to perform at the world’s biggest stage in Tokyo.”
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games begin July 23 and run until Aug. 8.
