USA Boxing has selected the coaching staff that will lead the 2016 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Women's Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will lead the women's team and participate in his first Olympic Games for Team USA after representing his native Ireland as both an athlete and a coach. USA Boxing Resident Coach Kay Koroma (Burke, Va.) has been named Men's Associate Coach and Augie Sanchez (Las Vegas, Nev.) joins the staff as the Assistant Coach. The men's and women's program rely heavily on the interaction and cooperation of the Olympians' personal coaches. USA Boxing staff commends those coaches for their commitment, dedication and support of the Olympic Team.
A 1988 Irish Olympian, Walsh joined USA Boxing following 12 years with the Irish Amateur Boxing Program as the federation's Head Coach and Director of the High Performance Unit. With Walsh at the helm, Irish boxers won seven medals in the last two Olympic Games. He relocated to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in November and has been working with USA Boxing's elite athletes since that time. Walsh has guided the athletes through numerous international events and training camps over the past eight months, including the Olympic Test Event, Americas Qualifier, Women's World Championships and the World Olympic Qualifying Event in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Koroma signed on as USA Boxing's Resident Coach earlier this year after traveling with several United States teams to key international events. The 2014 USOC Developmental Coach of the Year for Boxing, Koroma has created numerous national champions and World Championships medalists through his work at the Alexandria Boxing Club in Alexandria, Va. A former amateur and professional boxer, Koroma led American athletes at the Junior and Youth Women's World Championships, Elite Men's World Championships, the Americas Qualifier as well as multiple World Series of Boxing matches. Most recently, Koroma directed the preparatory training camp for the World Olympic Qualifying Event and is currently training the qualified athletes for this summer's Olympic Games at the Olympic Training Center.
Sanchez has been coaching amateur boxing for 18 years at Barry's Boxing Club in Las Vegas, Nev., and began traveling with international teams 10 years ago. A former elite level amateur and professional boxer, Sanchez has guided numerous USA Boxing teams in to international competition including the highly successful 2015 Junior World Championships squad. In addition, Sanchez assisted the team in the 2015 Elite Men's Continental Championships as well as several World Series of Boxing contests. Sanchez has traveled with the U.S. team for the past six months and recently assisted the American squd at the World Olympic Qualifying Event in Azerbaijan.
All coaches nominated to support the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee.
The boxing team will depart for Rio de Janeiro on July 19 and begin competition on August 6.