Olympic sports notes: Fort Carson boxer named U.S. co-captain

Fort Carson recognizes Christopher Downs by his military rank, sergeant first class. He’s a captain according to Colorado Springs-based USA Boxing.

Downs, a 32-year-old member of the World Class Athlete Program, has been named co-captain of the U.S. Olympic boxing team, which began practice last week at the Olympic Training Center.

The 11-person team, the first resident boxers at the OTC since the early 1980s, is preparing for a series of Olympic qualifiers, starting with the world championships Oct. 23 to Nov. 3 in Chicago.

To qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games, light-flyweight through light-heavyweight boxers must finish in the top eight at the world championships and heavyweight and super-heavyweight boxers need top-four finishes.

Downs said he wants to team with co-captain Luis Yanez, 18, of Duncanville, Texas, to provide “accountability for all the boxers” during their 10-month stint at the OTC.

“This is a great group,” said Downs, a two-time national champion and a bronze medalist at the Pan American Games. “My role as a captain is to make sure everybody is informed. Make sure everybody is on the same page. Make sure everybody stays out of trouble and keeps their nose clean.”

The 13-person U.S. women’s boxing team, which includes Fort Carson’s Caroline Barry, started training Tuesday at the OTC in preparation for the Pan American Championships, which are Oct. 5-9 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Barry, a WCAP member, was the runner-up in the 132-pound lightweight division at the 2006 Pan American Championships. In her last competition, she won a gold medal at the U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs.

PATE HEADING TO WORLDS

Colorado Springs cyclist Danny Pate will compete Sept.30 at the Road World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

Pate, sponsored by Slipstream/Chipotle, is coming off a 13th-place finish in the Tour of Missouri, a 563-mile stage race that is part of the inaugural USA Cycling Pro Tour.

He’ll be joined at the world championships by seven other U.S. elite men’s riders on a 166-mile course. The U.S. team also features eight elite women’s cyclists and six under-23 men’s cyclists.

MODERN PENTATHLON TUNE-UP

Four Colorado Springs modern pentathletes competed last weekend at the World Cup Final in Beijing.

Michelle “Mickey” Kelly, a WCAP member at Fort Carson, was the top U.S. finisher, taking 23rd place in the women’s division of the competition that doubled as an Olympic test event. She was followed by Dennis Bowsher (29th in men’s), Emily Shertzer (29th, women’s) and Sheila Taormina (32nd, women’s).

Kelly and Monument’s Eli Bremer qualified for Beijing by winning medals this summer at the Pan American Games. The top six finishers (three per gender) at the 2008 world championships will qualify for Beijing, and the remaining 14 Olympic spots (seven per gender) will be determined by World Cup ranking as of June 1.

EMMETT FINISHES SEASON

Colorado Springs mountain biker Kelli Emmett placed 38th last weekend in a women’s cross country race at the final World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia.

Emmett, a Giant-sponsored rider, finished 68th in the International Cycling Union’s final World Cup standings. Last year, she took 69th place.

SOFTBALL STATUS UNCLEAR

Mike Candrea, coach of the U.S. Olympic softball team, said Monday that he’s not sure whether his sport will return for the 2016 Games.

Softball will be contested next year in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee voted in 2005 to drop softball and baseball from the 2012 London Games, although there’s talk of bringing back softball in 2016.

“Our hands are a little bit tied. We can only do so much,” Candrea told reporters on a conference call announcing the naming of the 18-woman national team. “It’s going to take a break here and there to get the votes to sway a different direction. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen.”

The U.S. has won three gold medals since softball debuted at the 1996 Atlanta Games. It went 9-0 at the 2004 Athens Games, outscoring opponents 51-1 and setting 16 Olympic records.

The national team features 12 members of the 2004 squad, including three-time Olympians Laura Berg and Lisa Fernandez. A 40-city U.S. tour will begin in February, and the 15-woman Olympic team will be selected by July 1.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Check out our Olympics blog at gazetteolympics.blogspot.com