CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio will be well represented at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Cleveland native Morelle McCane was among four boxers to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games during the semifinals of the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. McCane becomes the first athlete from Cleveland to officially qualify for Paris.
McCane punched her ticket onto Team USA after a unanimous decision victory over Charlie Cavanagh, the 2022 Elite World Championships silver medalist from Canada.
“I will be in Paris, and I feel great,” McCane said following her victory. “I am honored to continue the Cleveland legacy and to be the first female from Cleveland to join the list of greats before me!”
In addition to becoming the first woman boxer from Cleveland, McCane becomes the fifth boxer from Cleveland to qualify for the Summer Olympics since 2008:
- 2008: Raynell Williams (Beijing)
- 2012: Terrell Gausha (London)
- 2016: Charles Conwell (Rio)
- 2020: Delante Johnson (Tokyo)
- 2024: Morelle McCane (Paris)
McCane took control from the beginning on Thursday after taking an early 4-1 first-round lead. She proved her dominance over her opponent in the second round, which saw the referee give Cavanagh a standing eight count in the final seconds of the round.
In addition to McCane, Jamal Harvey of Maryland, Jennifer Lozano and Joshua Edwards of Texas also qualified at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games
