Summary Light flyweight Nico Hernandez won the first Olympic medal for American men's boxing in eight years
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10, 2016 (AFP) - Light flyweight Nico Hernandez won the first Olympic medal for American men s boxing in eight years on Wednesday -- and then said he was driven on by the fear of disappointing his parents.
Hernandez, 20, battled to a unanimous points decision to reach the semi-finals in Rio and ensure he takes home at least a bronze, to help banish the bitter memories of London 2012 when the American men came home empty-handed and were pilloried for it.
There were some nervous moments for Hernandez against Ecuador s Carlos Quipo Pilataxi, 26, who slumped to his knees in the centre of the ring when the result was read out.
Hernandez, who has surpassed expectations in getting this far, said his parents were watching ringside and he could hear them throughout.
"My parents here, seeing them in the crowd, really inspires me and there has been a lot of support on social media so I just want to keep going and get some more victories.
"I can definitely hear my parents so that inspires me a lot too, hearing their voices and I didn t want to lose in front of my parents."
And if that was not inspiration enough, Hernandez said Team USA were also eager to make up for the abject failure of London.
"We didn t get a medal in the last Olympics so that gave me and my team-mates a lot of motivation," he said.
"We ve all been together since we were on the youth team so we all push each other, we are very competitive so they definitely help me out a lot in that."
