Elizabeth Akinyi is a Kenyan amateur boxer, and is the Kenyan national

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

champion. She made her debut in March 2016, when she was defeated by Goramane Rady. After primary schooling at Mid-fountain Primary School in Nairobi and Boro Primary School in Alego, she undertook her secondary education at St. Joseph's Secondary School and St. Mary's in Nairobi. Aged 14, she started boxing at St. John's Sports Society on the outskirts of

Korogocho Korogocho is one of the largest slum neighbourhoods of Nairobi, Kenya. Home to 150,000 to 200,000 people pressed into 1.5 square kilometres, northeast of the city centre, Korogocho was founded as a shanty town on the then outskirts of the city.

. Akinyi won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the 2017

African Amateur Boxing Championships The African Amateur Boxing Championships is the premier pan-continental annual competition for amateur boxing in Africa. The championships are organised by the continent's governing body, the ''African Boxing Union'' (ABU). The first edition of ...

. In May 2021 she participated in her first tournament outside Africa, finishing fifth at the Konstantin Korotkov Memorial Boxing Championships in Russia, after having to withdraw from her fight against Maronta Hernandec following a scratch on her gums from a new

mouthguard A mouthguard is a protective device for the mouth that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and reduce injury to the teeth, arches, lips and gums. An effective mouthguard is like a crash helmet for teeth and jaws. It also prevents the jaws com ...

. In 2021, she qualified to represent Kenya the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

through a quota place earned through the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Boxing Task Force Rankings.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akinyi, Elizabeth Living people Kenyan women boxers Middleweight boxers Welterweight boxers Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Kenya 1993 births 21st-century Kenyan women 21st-century Kenyan people