CLEVELAND — The Summer 2024 Olympics are coming up and one Northeast Ohio native has been preparing for her spot on the 2024 United States Olympic Team. That someone is Morelle McCane who began her boxing journey at 17, boxing at the Glenville Recreation Center.

What You Need To Know

  • Morelle McCane began her boxing journey at 17-years-old in Glenville 

  • At 29-years-old, she is the first female boxer from Cleveland competing in the Olympics 

  • She hopes to inspire people from Northeast Ohio to show them that they can chase their dreams

“It started off as a workout like my little niece and nephew was boxing first and then I was like, ‘Oh, I want to go to practice, too,’” she said.

Now at 29-years-old, McCane is the first female boxer from Cleveland to be a part of the Olympic Games.

“I get to represent not only my city, my country, and I get represent for us girls like girls’ sports is taking over and I’m so happy to be front and center as of now,” she said.

This journey hasn’t been something she has done alone. The community has helped to raise money so that McCane’s mom, siblings and nieces and nephews can travel to Paris to cheer her on this summer. McCane also has the community that is rallying behind her.

“I started here so just being able to be the face and be like, ‘Listen, I’m going to Paris, I’m going to fight, I’m going to achieve some goals, and you can too.’ I want to come back after and be like, ‘Listen, we did it,’” she said.

Her goal is to bring home a gold medal, but regardless of what happens in the games, McCane has hopes of being someone that kids in the northeast Ohio community can look up to.

“I just want to be that inspiration, like I come from the inner city. I come from the Glenville neighborhood so just knowing that you can dream and have big dreams and you can achieve those goals,” she said.

McCane will first travel to Colorado to train and then to Paris at the beginning of July.