TOKYO, Japan — The Olympic journey did not end with gold for one Ohio boxer, but what she accomplished will still surely make her home state proud.
Toledo native Oshae Jones lost her women's welterweight semifinal bout Wednesday to China's Gu Hong bringing her stellar run in Tokyo to a close with two victories and one defeat. The 23-year-old struggled to gain momentum against the elusive 32-year-old Gu, and the judges scored 4-1 against her.
In virtually every other Olympic sport, Jones would meet fellow semifinal runner-up Lovlina Borgohain of India in one more match for the bronze medal. However, the games have not held third-place fights for any of their boxing divisions since 1948, citing risks to the athletes' health.
Therefore, both Jones and Borgohain will finish in a tie for third place, and Jones will get to stand on the podium and bring a bronze medal back to Northwest Ohio.
It's the first career Olympic medal for the young Jones, who previously won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru. While it's also the first podium trip for Borgohain, she is no stranger to the world boxing stage, with back-to-back bronze finishes at the 2018-19 world championships.
Gu will face Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli for the women's welterweight gold medal on Saturday. The fight is scheduled for 2:15 a.m., eastern time.
More Olympic headlines:
- Tokyo Olympics livestreams, Aug. 4: US beach volleyball semis, more new sports
- 'What the Olympics and pole vault mean to me': Olmsted Falls native Katie Nageotte discusses love of sport, journey to the Olympics in new video
- Ohio native Duke Ragan wins semifinals boxing match, moves on to finals
- University of Akron alum Clayton Murphy races for medal in men's 800m finals at Tokyo Olympics