At 14, St. Paul's Natalia Young is a USA Boxing Junior Olympics champion
- Serenity Xayboury
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
At just 14 years old, Natalia Young is a Junior Olympic gold medalist, but long before she sat on top of the podium, she was just a little girl stepping into a boxing gym for the very first time.
“I was like, three years old, just watching my dad every day, and it inspired or motivated me to try it out,” said Natalia.
As Natalia grew, so did her reason for stepping into the ring.
“I just did it for fun, and now, I do it for a purpose. I want to get to the Olympics ranked number one in the nation, or the world, in my weight class,” said Natalia.
That purpose led Natalia to the 2026 USA Boxing Junior Olympics in Wichita, KS, where she entered the national tournament with only two sanctioned fights on her record. Despite facing opponents with far more experience, she returned home with the gold medal.
“In the beginning of the year, she wrote all the goals that she wanted to accomplish,” said Thomas Young Jr., Natalia’s father and coach. “She wanted to compete for the first time. She wanted to win the Junior Olympics. Everything that she wrote down, I seen it come to fruition.”
For Natalia, the gold medal represents much more than a championship, it's the outcome of her hard work and persistence.
“You have to be in the gym 24/7/365, just hard work, no stopping, all grind,” she said.
That's something her coaches can attest to as well.
“They don't see the behind the scenes, the heart and the charisma of the person she is. She's a leader by heart,” said Cerresso Fort, Natalia’s coach at owner of SIR Boxing Club on St. Paul's East Side.
Natalia is also inspiring the next generation training alongside her. Malachi Young, 11, recently earned a silver medal at the Junior Olympics and is now ranked number two in the country.
“I came silver, she came gold, and that motivated me to try to win something big,” said Malachi.
With the Junior Olympic gold medal around her neck and a 6-0 record in ranked fights, Natalia now has her sights set on the USA Boxing National Championships in December.