Olympic Trials Winner Eros Correa Pulls Out of Nationals

By Ryan Maquiñana

Last year’s Olympic Trials winner at 108 pounds has pulled out of the USA Boxing National Championships in Fort Carson, Colo., effectively ending his Olympic dream for London 2012.

“I was feeling sick when I got to Colorado last weekend, so I drank some water to feel better,” said 19-year-old Eros Correa of San Jose, Calif.  “I still had to make weight, though, and when I tried to burn off the pounds, nothing came off.”

Correa had taken over the light flyweight division the past couple months, winning both the Last Chance Qualifier and the aforementioned Trials to capture a shot at an Olympic Team spot at the AIBA World Championships last October.

However, he fell short of making the quarterfinals.  According to USA Boxing’s new policy, Correa’s failure to finish in the top eight at Worlds re-opened the light flyweight sweepstakes.  As a result, this week’s Nationals became the determining “reload” tournament for who would represent the Stars and Stripes at the Americas Olympic Qualifier in Brazil.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” Correa added. “I worked so hard to get here, and I feel like I earned my trip to the Olympics by winning Trials, but that’s the new rules for you, I guess.”

Correa now becomes the second Trials champion rendered unable to recover his place on the team.  Super heavyweight Lenroy “Cam” Thompson of Lenexa, Kan., was suspended one year by the United States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) for not meeting whereabouts requirements for out-of-competition drug testing.

San Francisco’s LaRon Mitchell has usurped Thompson as the top-seeded 201-plus-pounder at Nationals.

Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBayArea.com). He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at norcalboxing.net or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.