Texas A&M's Cammile Adams will compete for a medal in the 200-meter butterfly this week.
UPDATE: Marlen Esparza wrapped up her boxing career on Wednesday with a semifinals loss at the London Olympics that prevented her from reaching the gold-medal round. Esparza, a 2007 Pasadena High graduate, was awarded the bronze medal in the women's flyweight division. Esparza lost 10-8 to China's Cancan Ren in the semifinals.
UPDATE: Pasadena High graduate Marlen Esparza assured herself of an Olympic medal on Monday when she defeated Karhla Magliocco of Venezuela 24-16 to reach the semifinals of women's flyweight boxing in London. Esparza will face world champion Cancan Ren of China in the semifinals on Wednesday. Esparza qualified for at least a bronze medal with her victory on Monday.
UPDATE: Since the publication of this story last week, readers have pointed out another U.S. Olympian with Pasadena ISD connections. Cammile Adams, set to compete in the 200-meter butterfly, is the daughter of Eddie Adams, a 1975 Pasadena High graduate and a former South Houston High swimming coach. Cammile, a junior at Texas A&M, will compete on Tuesday. The finals in her event are set for Wednesday.
Two world-class athletes with Pasadena ISD connections will be competing in the London 2012 Olympics beginning next week.
Women's boxer Marlen Esparza (top right), a 2007 Pasadena High graduate, and men's gymnast Jonathan Horton (bottom right), the son of South Houston High alumnus Alan Horton, will be among the hundreds of American athletes competing for Olympic gold.
Esparza was class president and graduated in the top two percent of her class at Pasadena High. She was accepted to Rice University, but decided instead to pursue her interest in a boxing career.
Earlier this year, she made history by becoming the first American woman boxer to qualify for the Olympics, which is offering women's boxing as a competition sport for the first time.
Horton graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 after leading the Sooners to five NCAA titles. He competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, landing a silver medal in the horizontal bar and a bronze in the team competition.
In London, he hopes to lead team USA to gold as well as an individual top finish in the men's rings competition. He currently resides in Houston and trains at Houston Cypress Academy of Gymnastics.
His father is a member of the South Houston High Class of 1969.
Esparza will compete in the first round of women's flyweight on Sunday, Aug. 5, at 7:30 a.m. on NBC. Men's gymnastics coverage begins with the team final on Monday at 10:30 a.m. The rings competition is set for Aug 6 at 8 a.m.
The 2012 London summer Olympics kicks off on Friday with coverage of the opening ceremonies beginning at 6:30 p.m. NBC (Channel 2 in the Houston area) has exclusive rights to all Olympics coverage.
