US Olympic Boxing Team 2012: Dreams Dashed Early for US Marine Jamel Herring

Jamel Herring of the United States Marine Corps immediately saw his hopes for an Olympic boxing gold medal fall in London.

According to the Associated Press via the Washington Post:

"

The Long Island native couldn’t keep up with [Daniyar] Yeleussinov [of Kazakhstan], whose aggression and quick hands repeatedly got Herring in trouble during the first two rounds. Yeleussinov mostly spent the third round avoiding exchanges, but Herring couldn’t score enough points for a comeback.

"

Losing 19-9, Herring's inaugural Olympic performance was certainly disappointing.

The competition is a single-elimination format and the bronze medal is handed to each fighter who loses in the semifinal round. So in short, there's no consolation bracket for a chance to make a comeback.

Nevertheless, he won the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Boxing Trials in the 141-pound weight class, which added to his 2011 Armed Forces championship and World Military Games silver medal.

So, America and Herring had every reason to believe a shot to medal was in the making. That said, the 26-year-old has plenty to be proud of and tweeted after his loss:

"

Thank you all for y'all support, it's really helping and on top of that I got my teammates lifting my spirit. My head is held high over here

— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) July 31, 2012"

On an even brighter side, Herring's youth provides him with ample time to prepare for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials and beyond. We've seen plenty of pros last well into their mid-30s and although he's an amateur, Herring will only continue to get better and become more consistently elite.

And we can most definitely anticipate Herring being back in the ring. Remaining positive after his bout:

"

It's not the end, my head is high even though I felt I let a lot of people down but I'll rebound back. For now I'll continue my role here.

— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) July 31, 2012"

With so much potential as a boxer, Herring puts true meaning to the word "fighter."

Combine him being an Olympian on top of a marine and that juggling act alone is a rarity. He's a hero in and out of the boxing ring. We can only hope to see him putting up the gloves for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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