For most athletes, winning a gold medal is the ultimate accomplishment in their sport, proving that they truly are the greatest in the world. Flint native Claressa Shields is one step closer to Olympic glory as she fought her way to the championship match.

loading...

Flint's Claressa Shields is guaranteed at least a silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics, as she defeated Kazakhstan's Marina Volnova in dominating fashion, landing her a spot in the championship fight.

The 17-year-old Shields defeated her opponent 29-15 and looked prepared and focused the entire fight.  Shields has publicly stated that anything less that than the gold is unacceptable to her and she will be America's last chance to win gold in boxing for this Olympic games.  In her upcoming gold medal fight, she will face off against one of the best female boxers in the world, Nadezda Torlopova from Russia.  I have to assume Torlopova is the female version of Ivan Drago, so Shields should be in for the fight of her life.   The gold medal match will take place on Thursday at 12:15 pm local time.

Over 200 people gathered at Blackstone's to watch the live fight, where the restaurant had a projector screen playing the feed.  A larger crowd is expected for the gold medal fight on Thursday.

Source: MLive.com

More From Banana 101.5